Finally made it out on the Lake, but

How do I adjust the rudders, I seem to always have to pull the tiller hard to keep the boat going straight?

Sounds like your rudders aren't actually locked down. The upper rudder casting should actually lock onto the lower casting when the rudder is fully down. You will have to give a significant tug upward on the tiller arm to pop it off of the lower casting- you should not be able to simply lift the tiller arm upwards when everything is working properly.

sm

I checked that, they were secuelyl locked

Taking a guess here, but you probably are experiencing weather helm due to the default factory rudder configuration. Have your rudders been adjusted to be raked under the boat? The factory sends them out in a sort of default configuration that most people end up modifying to combat the very symptom you describe.

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

What year is your boat?

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Sail Revolution
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around 1980 not sure , how can i find out?

Great. From Jman's post above about the 'factory default' I didn't know if it was a brand new boat or not. There ain't no factory default on a 30 year old boat, just years of wear.

First, make sure that your cams are properly engaged with the upper casting. On the trailer, put the rudders in the down position and see if you can get the cams to lock the rudders down. Now determine how much rake you have by grabbing the tip of the rudder blade and pulling aft. Stop just before you pop the cam, just when the cam plate (or pin in your case) engages the cam. Measure the distance between the casting and the forward edge of the rudder blade. Report back.

Unless you have adjustable upper castings, if your rake is too much a re-drill of your rudders will be necessary.

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Dennis,

To answer your question about the year of your boat, look at the transom of both hulls. There will be a number engraved in them and the last two digits indicate the year of manufacture.

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Howard

Raking the mast aft also causes weather helm. If you're raking the mast then you need to adjust your rudders or not rake back too far.

Hey Skipshot, I'm NOT an old salt. I thought that raking the mast back did the opposite? I thought it reduced weather helm and allowed you to point higher, and the rudder rake reduced weather helm a little more as a fine tuning. What have I been smokin'?

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

If the mast is raked back it puts more power aft causing the boat to naturally round up more quickly and point higher. If the rudders are not raked forward in adjustment then weather helm increases as the mast rake increases.

I learned this the hard way when I replaced the standing rigging on my '81 16. The old shrouds were the old, longer length and the new shrouds were shorter to get more rake. I put as much rake as I could and suddenly the tiller felt like it weighed 25 pounds. I pulled the mast forward and the tiller became lighter. Try it.

The principle behind the weather vs. lee helm is that there is a point on the sail that is the center of effort (where all the force of the wind could be considered concentrated) and a center of resistance (a point on the hulls where the resistance to sliding sideways would be concentrated). When the C of E is behind the C of R, the forces will try to turn the boat into the wind (weather helm). When the C of E is forward of the C of R, the forces will try to turn the boat away from the wind (lee helm). A boat with a lee helm is dangerous. The greater the distance between the two forces, the greater the amount of turning force. A little weather helm is desirable. Raking the mast should move the C of E further aft, increasing the turning moment of the forces, increasing the amount of weather helm.

Changing the angle of the rudders affects the weather helm in a different way, moving some of the force on the rudder forward of the pivot point of the rudder which would reduce some of the weather helm or in the other direction, increase it. I have never considered the relationship between the weather helm and the balance of forces on the rudders. Maybe someone has played with the both adjustments and can comment on it.

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Howard

Well thank you BOTH Skipshot and Hrtsailor. I guess I'm not smokin' the really good stuff and got it half right. lol I switched my terms, weather helm for lee helm at least in my understanding. Got it, mast rake pulls C of E aft and points you higher, that makes sense.

I have actually done both, I think. This is my first boat, ever, and I got her ~2 years ago. I've spent a lot of time working on her and increasing my learning of the basics of the parts and operations. One thing I did originally was replace the running and standing rigging. But, I do not know if the new shrouds I got were the shorter, raked shrouds. I didn't know enough to ask and probably wouldn't have understood the difference at the time anyway. How do I know? Does anyone have a spec or know where I can get one? On Hobie and Murray's I only see prices.

I also recently did the mod to rake my rudders under the boat. They are now EXACTLY 1 5/8" forward of the pin's centerline, trying to be conservative vice the 1 3/4" end of the recommended range. Some on this board have said I'm being way too precise with this, but without knowing any better I kind of have to be precise until I learn more. One of the first things I have to check and verify is see if I overdid it with the rudder rake, hopefully today. If I did I understand they will cause the dangerous lee helm.

Stay tuned.....and again, thanks a million for the education!

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

UPDATE

I verified the rudder rake was NOT overdone at 1 5/8". Actually, it seemed just right today, letting go and it gently pulled into the wind. However, keeping her point away from the wind did take some effort, too much, I'm not sure.

My mast set up may need to be changed and I'll fiddle with it to get it right, and I'll verify the length of my shrouds as soon as I am able.

Sorry to steal the thunder from the original poster.

MODERATOR: Please advise if I should start another thread.

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

jmann, as far as I know, Hobie sells only the new length shrouds and forestay. If you have an older boat this becomes a problem if you still have the original jib since that jib wasn't cut for the increased mast rake. You'll probably find that the jib luffs a lot or just doesn't seem to take shape anymore, but that can also be caused by a blown jib. In either case you may need a new jib, too.