Old style rudder questions

I've got an '82 H18 and have had some rudder issues. The rudders really don't want to kick up when sailing regardless of the surface encountered and have broken 2 plastic rudders as a result. Short of buying the new rudder setups, which would be more expensive than the entire boat cost, are there any solutions?

This was myself and my crew Brian on the '08 Texas 200--one rudder blade killed & replaced with a redrilled H16 rudder.


That was a wet enough ride to want to change to a higher volume boat. I'd built an outrigger before and my crew wanted one as well, so we each built a Tamanu hull and combined it into a huge volume Tamanu cat with H18 rig, beams, rudders, etc.

Killed another blade that year as well, but cut it down and redrilled it. Killed two fiberglass rids as well, so obviously I'm running too much tension.

Any way to lighten up?

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Dan St. Gean
'82 H 18
'96 H Wave

assuming you're using the standard regular hobie rudder system....

under the rudder cam, way under, you have to look up at it from inside the rudder casting... while the rudder is in the up position... there's a screw. a plastic screw.

if the screw it too tight, it presses a spring hard, which presses the rudder cam hard, which prevents rudder kick-up.

loosen the screw. you may need to soak it in PB-blaster or other penetrant and also heat the tip of a wide flat screwdriver...then melt the hot screwdriver into the plastic screw to get a good grip... and back the screw out.

before doing all that, make sure your cams are in the right position.

once you fiddle with the system, you'll see it's very easy to adjust.

if you can build hulls, you can do this. and do it soon before you rip some transoms off rather than rudders.

happy sailing.

The old style rudder castings don't have any adjustments beyond the plastic screw that sets the spring pressure on the release mechanism. There is no rudder rake adjustment ("cam position"). In fact, there really isn't a cam, it's more like a latch or hook.

There have been numerous posts on this subject, so I'd suggest doing a search because what you're experiencing is not uncommon. Lots of good suggestions to remedy this problem have already been posted previously.

sm

Search the post "Old Rudder Casting Kick Up".

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1984 Hobie 18

I have some new, old style rudder castings if you need them, as well as some old style used ones that are in good shape. I probably have some of the old style cams too if I can find them.

Thanks folks!

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Dan St. Gean
'82 H 18
'96 H Wave

Rob,

"PB-blaster" sounds like something I need for my rudder screws. Is that really the name of the product or did you abbreviate it? Who sells it? Never heard of it, but soaking the casting and screw in some type of penetrant before doing the hot screw driver trick sounds like a good idea.

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

MVD, that's really the name, available at most Auto Parts stores.

I've found a REALLY big screwdriver works well to break old screws loose (at least worth a try). Talkin' 'bout one of those 18" rascals.

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

Both Home Depot and Lowes carry PB Blaster, too.

Today I bought some PB Blaster, a really long screw driver with a wide blade, and a portable torch. Mariner Sails is sending me another delrin screw. I'm finally going to replace those old ones this weekend. Thanks for the tips.

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

Follow up on delrin tension screw replacement. Sprayed some PB blaster on them and let them soak for about 30 minutes. Didn't seem to have much affect. Then I heated up a 12" screw driver with a small propane torch until the blade was red hot. Used a small hammer to lightly tap the screw driver in until the blade was in about a 1/2 inch deep. Then let it all cool for about 30 minutes. I tried to turn the blade with both hands and couldn't get it to budge. Then I used a set of channel locks on the screw driver handle to give me more leverage. That did it. I finally got the screw to turn and backed it out. Repeated on the screw in the other casting. Beware. Smoke from the delrin screw will sting if it gets in your eyes. Thanks for the tips. Next up: replace the rudder rake adjustment screws. They're stuck too.

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

Not just sting the eyes... I recall hearing that it is poison (formaldehyde?). Be careful!

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

glad it worked for you...

i learned the hard way and drilled out my first one....

the hot screwdriver is a lot easier.