Rudder wobble

the castings wobble on my H16. Not much, but they do...is this normal? if not, how do I fix it??

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'72 Hobie 16
with
#56 Gonzo Nationals

check the new hobie catalogue....they are nylon bushings that you can press into the castings...that coupled with stainless steel rudder pins in a one piece gudgeoun makes everything super tight.

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

Noting only that converting my '81 to the one piece gudgeon would have required some re-drilling. I was pretty bummed b/c the upgrade seemed logical and I was prepared to do it to get tighter steering. Check to make sure it won't for your model, the existing hardware is embedded in the glass and I'm really not sure how I would have worked around that.

Where exactly are your castings wobbling?

Anyone have any ideas or experience with upgrading from the stock two part to the single one piece gudgeon on the older 16s??

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'81 H16

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

i have an 81 also and did no redrilling. check my restoration thread.

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

This is really quite easy to do. The "hardware" in the transom is an aluminum plate. All you need is a drill and a tap. It takes only about 10 minutes.

When I bought my boat the gudgeons were removed and parts were missing. I installed the one piece gudgeon but, frankly, I don't see that it was a major improvement versus the stock gudgeons. I didn't redrill the transom but it was still a hassle to modify the gudgeon. The lower casting no longer has full travel left to right as it fouls on the gudgeon screws. The European casting must be slightly different. If you don't have to do it...I wouldn't bother.

The newer rudder castings have indentations on the lower part that clear the one-piece gudgeon.


The benefit to the one-piece gudgeon is not slop removal - it's in alignment of the top and lower gudgeons, something that's problematic with two-piece gudgeons.

Also, if you are going to buy the bushing kit you might want to have access to a machine shop. The lower casting is line bored at the factory. Using a hand drill with a 1/2" bit might be a little dodgy IMO. You could so some serious damage to the bore if you're not careful. If the bushings are at all different angles you'll never get the rudder pin in or it will bind if you do.

Thank you 30series and mbounds, I'll file that away for the future when I get some "free" time. For now the new two piece gudgeons are working well enough.

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'81 H16

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