H 18 Rudder shearing off

Has anyone lost rudders while sailing. I lost both rudders yesterday while sailing in 25mph winds. They snapped off right at the water line. First the leeward hull blade then the other just seconds later. Is this a weak link for a Hobie 18 or were these blades just old and weak. Also can someone recommend a good pair of replacement rudders at a good price.

Thanks
Out of Control

Where they the "plastic" rudder blades????

You want to find either the old EPOv1 made in the 1980's through the late 90's they're black epoxy .... try E-Bay ...

Or purchase the "new" EPOv2's currently made in Austalia through your local Hobie Dealer ... be prepared for "sticker shock" .... but they are sooooo sweet.

Nothing else is worth the money/time/trouble .... they will just keep bending/shearing off under load .... stay away from the "plastic" rudder blades especially ....

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HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Thats some crazy shiznit man! I would love to hear how you made it back with no steering? Catsailing is crazy some days!

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Floyd
00 Tiger
http://www.HobieFleet33.com
10 Mile Surfside, Texas
Join us on our Facebook group: Surfside Sailing

That's the classic failure mode of ABS plastic rudders from the late '60s and '70s. Long term UV exposure makes them brittle. They shouldn't have been on an 18, though.

The original rudder on 18s was Lexan plastic - very flexible and tough, but still subject to UV degradation. They're horrible for performance (too bendy). I've never seen one break transversely.

Anything that came after that (EPO, PCG, Racer Rudders, EuroCarbon, EPO2) will not break transversely like that. They'd rip the gudgeons off the boat first.

EPO2s are expensive and worth it. They don't flex, they have a great shape right out of the box and they're so light, they float.

Great! Thanks for the replies.
I think I'll just bite the bullet and buy some EPO2s. I've looked on EBay and everywhere else. I can't find a set of used epoxy rudders.

As to how I got home. I was in a local yacht club race. The club-house was across the lake but downwind from where the incident occurred. We were naturally turned 90 degrees to the wind and headed toward a rough area of shoreline. We let out the sails and I pulled out one of the dagger boards. I tried to hold it in as a rudder behind the rear x bar. No luck here. As we continued to run closer to shore I decided to try dragging the dagger board in the water on the leeward side of the boat. I pinned it against a wing support with my leg. Like dragging an oar in the water. The boat turned down wind. The boat naturally wanted to turn to starboard and by regulating how deep I drug water, my efforts turned us to port. I just drove like this until we ran onto shore of the yacht club, right where we had started from.

No kidding. An old farmer here in Vermont once told me "If its not one thing, its two"
and sooo right he is. Luckily I have two different rudder materials on my 18

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

Yep. I put never used, old black plastic Hobie rudders on my boat and 30 minutes later in mild wind the leeward rudder broke off just like yours. It was replaced with a never used white fiberglass rudder, but I'm still using the black one. I got two-tone rudders.