RUDDER PIN INSTALL

Broke my rudder pin on my 2010 outback today. I replaced it with the rudder pin in the hatch. My ques is why is the rudder pin diffrent in the hatch then the one that came with the outback when i bought it. the one in the hatch comes with a grove in it that i assume the rudder strings go through it.I installed the new one and seems to work fine. But the one i broke was just a flat head pin and could be installed by just pushing it down and not fishing the rudder strings through it. my buddy has the same year outback and his spare was the same as the one i broke

We made a change to the rudder housing where the up/down lines run through, right at the point where the pin fits in. Older models have the lines passing through holes in a raised area of the housing on forward and aft sides of the pin. These holes caused chafe on control lines, so we removed the raised area and changed the pin to hold the lines. The lines are captured by the new pin's "C" shape to keep them centered over the pin when you make a left turn. This reduces the pull on the rudder down line that would otherwise cause the rudders to pull hard left every time you let go of the control handle.

The new pin will not fit and pass clear through the housing without cutting away the guides. You may be able to cut the head off the pin to make it work like the original. You can still get the original as a replacement as well.

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

I solved this problem by using a 5/16 x 3 1/2" long stainless steel bolt, 2 flat washers and a SS nylock nut.
I ground the head of the bolt with my cheapo bench grinder to the same shape as the plastic pin.
Cut/filed a slot in the threaded end of the bolt so a flat blade screwdriver will prevent the bolt from turning as you install the nylock nut.
Sequence is to drop the bolt into the rudder assembly.....slip 2 flat washers over the end of the bolt and install the nylock nut.
The washers take up the "slop" in the length of the bolt so it won't rise up and interfere with the spectra lines.
After using this modification for 18 months, there is no wear on the spectra lines and my rudder mounting is bullet proof.
The whole task took about 30 minutes start to finish.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

yeah i heard of that before but the your rudder will break before your pin

I am willing to take that chance as I believe the spectra line will fail first.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Why would you take that chance? Even if your right is that something you can fix or even want to when your out on the water. replacing the rudder pin is a quick fix you can do with no tools .

My experience in breaking the rudder is very unlikely and the forums bear this out.
I changed to the SS bolt to not worry about the rudder....after several usages, I found my plastic pin was about to fall out and I then discovered I did not have a spare one under the rear hatch as was supposed to be from the factory.
It would take one heck of a force to break the plastic pin, but if it had a nylock nut or cotter pin to prevent loss, I would not have changed it to the SS bolt.
The diameter dictates the bolt size.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Be very careful using harder than recommended rudder pins. When Hobie was testing newer rudder pins, many harder "test" pins were sent to some of us early owners to test (we use to break a lot of pins!). The harder plastic/fiberglass mix pins we were given we never broke, but after using them for a year we cracked the transom on two of our four AI's! We never knowingly hit anything with the rudder, but I think the constant stress that would have broken the original pins, was transmitted to the plastic of the transom, and finally caused their failure, one week apart. The pins finally released for production, were not as hard as the test pins we were using. Also, we never broke the rudder.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Reconlon.....your point is well taken with the AI craft where the rudder is much larger and the aft rudder forces are greater when sailing in a stiff breeze, heavy crew, going up wind.
My Outback is a different cat.....no sail, but I do have the sailing rudder installed so the kayak tracks on line when I use my down rigger.
Hobie could also consider "molding in" a brass or bronze insert to strengthen the rudder attachment area......just a suggestion for the larger AI's.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Already done. All current product use a brass insert and a bolted-on gudgeon for the rudder.

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

Excellent!

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR