Rudder stiffening kit ?s

The person who I bought the boat from said this was the one thing he would do to the boat so I ordered the kit. It came in a plastic bag and that was it. Can someone please tell me exactly how to install these so I don't have to wing it. It appears simple, but so do a lot of things. Do I use all the washers? Do they go on the outside/inside?
I know I have asked a lot of ?s lately and you all have been very helpful. This is a great site. Thanks!

The washers are spacers to take up the gap between the rudder and casting. Use the stainless nut to be able to tighten the casting down for a perfect fit.

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

getting them in place can be a pain. they go between the casting and the rudder. I used the bolt and a screw driver. place the tip of the bolt in one hole of the casting just far enough to accept however many disks you are going to use, stick the screw driver in the other casting hole so it is touching the bolt in the middle, split the disks, slide the rudder between the screwdriver and bolt and hopefully after a few trys you can push the bolt all the way through using the screw driver as a guide.

after I got them togther, I thought about using a string run one end in to the casting place 1 or 2 disks on the string, run through rudder 1 or 2 more disks and out the other side of the casting. not sure how or if there would be room for the string to squeeze in there or not dependig on how tight you want your rudder.

Sam

Hey Guys,

I taped mine to the casting with cellophane tape. Went in (both rudders) the first time. After a spin around the bay, the tape was gone, and the boat did steer much smoother.

Happy Sailing,

David

Thanks for the tips, you saved me a lot of time and frustration! Can't wait to get out this weekend.

My original EPO's that came with my 1986 H16 have been refinished and the project produced very nice results. Meanwhile, with the exception of one side of one of the upper castings, I cannot fit any washers.

The rudder slop article that folks advocate, suggests at least installing one washer at each of the locations (either side of the rudder on upper and lower castings between rudder and casting), simply to get the proper performance (stop at 45 degrees down and then be able to put them down completely with ease - with the two different positions easy to achieve).

So, since mine are otherwise tight, should I not worry about it? Is it worth removing some of the rudder material to fit the washers? Should I proceed without them and try adjusting the tightness of the bolts to try to achieve the desired performance? This would of course produce the wear directly on the rudders, rather on the washers.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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ScotsSailor
1986 Hobie 16

That's a pretty common story on original EPOs - they're fat.

Pretty much. Don't try to make your castings wider, just make sure (with a file) that the inside is smooth.

Probably not.

Yes.

That's the downside - and why you make the insides of the castings very smooth.

MBounds, should have known I could count on you, yet again. Thanks so much for the information and support!

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ScotsSailor
1986 Hobie 16

The March 1997 issue of "On The Wire", Vol. 1, Issue 7, had a very good article by David Hall on Towards the "No Slop" Rudder that I used to fix my rudders. The larger diameter spacers help to keep the rudder from rubbing against the casting. If you make your own spacers they can be as thin as you want.

https://www.thebeachcats.com/OnTheWire/earthlink/_mattson/hobie/archives/v1-i7/feature1.htm#:~:text=Towards%20the%20%22No%20Slop%22%20Rudder%20Rudder%20tuning%20tips,the%20beach.%20Your%20rudders%20are%2C%20of%20course%2C%20up.

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

That is what I was referring to by -
I agree, a very good article. It is what prompted the question. In short, I had no room for the washers on both sides, between rudder and casting. Indeed, I found room for but one washer in the eight possible locations.

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ScotsSailor
1986 Hobie 16