PCG Rudder blade

I am looking for one of the black plastic rudder blades that came on the 17 Sport. I believe they were called PCG. The 17 I bought a couple of years ago has one of them ground down. Must have been drug on the trailer. Anyway I can not take it any more.

The PCG rudders are just black plastic. If you can live with mis-matched rudders, get one of the white plastic rudders off eBay.

Both types of rudders "work", but there's a world of difference between them and a stiff fiberglass rudder. Plastic rudders = '76 Cadillac steering (mush). EPO rudders = race car steering (responsive).

I've heard for years about the EPO rudder blades. Are they really worth the money. Can you really feel a difference? I would hate to spend that kind of money just to say "meh."

if you go fast at all, EPO's are the way to go.
The rudder is 'stiffer', with much greater 'feel', which in turn allows you a level of precision and drive that is awesome.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Composite rudders definitely have a performance advantage over the injection molded plastic rudders. That being said, if you are a casual sailor, the PCG/lexan rudders are probably ok. Also if you are a little rough on your equipment (let the rudders hit the bottom a lot) or if you want a no-maintenance rudder, the PCG is probably the way to go. The EPOs definitely have an advantage in upwind performance and overall handling. The new ones are very costly though. I would try to find a set of old ones and refurb them.

sm

I have a set of used lexan ones...cheap. Check out the classifieds.

Johnny Wildcat