Rudder cam action

Have just reconditioned a 16. Not exactly sure but I think the rudders should be 2 position either up or down and both locked by the plastic cam. My cams look good but I have not removed them. Problem is I have to literally force both rudders down (by grasping the rudder itself) to lock them down. They stay down with no problem but then to disengage them to rise rudders, I again have to force them out of the cam by grasping the rudders. I cannot do either engagement with the rudder steering arms. And when up, they will not stay. They fall back down but are not engaged in the down position. There is some wear visible on the aluminum housings on both sides but they still engage enough to hold them but are very easily slipped off. Any suggestions out there? Thanks. Ron

Guessing the cams don't rotate?

Read the cam FAQ here. They need to be lubricated and they rotate from open to lock and back.

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=467

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

Up is not held with the cams, but simply with the way the shapes of the castings interact. Cams only hold the rudders down.

If you have to force the rudders down by hand, that sounds to me like the rudder blades are too tight in the castings. First thing I would try would be loosening the thru-bolts that the rudders pivot on in the lower casting. You could also try some lube between the side of the rudder blade and the casting but that is likely only a temporary solution. In some cases, the rudder blade itself is too thick for the casting and the sides of the head of the blade need to be sanded down slightly to fit more easily into the casting and rotate up and down in the casting.

As mentioned above, the cam does not hold the rudder in the up position. The shape of the upper casting itself engages into the lower casting to hold the rudder up. Pull the rudder up/tiller arm forward as far as it will go and then drop the tiller arm down onto the lower casting and the rudder should lock up. In some cases, I have seen on older boats where the rudder system was worn out, the upper tiller arms may contact the deck and accidentally pop the rudder free. Also, if the hiking stick is resting on the rear crossbar with the rudders up, sometimes that can cause the upper casting to release and drop the rudder down.

sm

If you are backing your boat onto the beach solo with an on-shore wind and waves, what do you do with with your hiking stick?

As srm said,
I have the H20 type tiller connectors and if the tiller stick is on the rear crossbar it causes my rudders to drop.

Also you don't want the hiking stick in the water near the shore.

I was thinking of putting boat hook clips near each end of the tiller crossbar to lock the hiking stick on top of the tiller crossbar when needed.

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

There used to be a kit many years ago that was just a couple pieces of self-adhesive velcro. One strip of velcro hook attached to each end of the tiller crossbar. A couple strips of velcro pile wrapped around the tiller extension. This allowed you to stick the hiking stick to the tiller crossbar when needed.

sm

Whenever I had the rudders up, I laid the tiller to the side across the rudder arm. If I put it across the crossbeam, it would cause the rudder arm to rise up and the rudder would drop.

_________________
Howard

Having reliable rudders is a game changer. I wrote an article for an online Hobie "ezine" back in 1997 explaining how to get the most out of your H-16 rudder setup. You can access the article here. It explains how, for the cost of a few tubs of butter and a tube of black RTV silicone sealant, you can tune up your entire rudder system and really start to enjoy using your boat.

When you launch your boat with the rudders up, they are captured in the up position by the clever design of the upper and lower aluminum rudder castings. After that the castings let you down with poor fit and function. When you lift the tiller arm, the rudder releases and the weight of it should cause it to glide into a position about 45 degrees down without you having to push on it. When you apply light force against the rudder through the tiller, it should glide down and nestle into its normal, fully down, position. With the rudder down, then when you lower the tiller arm, it should be completely centered over the rudder cam and gently click as the cam rotates to a locked position. If you are laughing at this description, trust me, I am completely serious. If your boat doesn't act that way, you are in the majority of owners.

If you want the details on how to accomplish this for less than $10 in parts, click the link above and follow along with the free, illustrated, step-by-step guide. At least read the article to see how easy it is to eliminate all your rudder and tiller problems.