Rudder : EZ Loc versus Old Style (Durability not speed)

Hi, has anyone switched from old style to EZ locs on their wave? Do the pintles have to move and/or be replaced? Can I use the same rudder blades?
Second question -- are they tougher? I have just broken my second aluminum casting ( a brand new one) in 2 months. I have to ship them from the states so this is costing a fortune.
Reading the forums consensus seems to be that they are less 'race like' but I dont care about that.
Im happy - well not happy, more like resigned - to bite the bullet and invest in a full replacement for hassle free sailing. Im breaking something every 3rd outing!
Thanks

How did you break the rudders? I have a 1997 wave that has orginal rudders. So I don't do what you did explain what I shouldn't do.

Hi, I launch from a small surf beach. The first time I got knocked sideways when pushing it out, the blade dropped down and caught the bottom. The 2nd time I was pushed back by a wave onto a sandbar and the rudder again caught.
Both times it was quite a gentle nudge but the casting still broke.

I think I might be a little jinxed, last week the rivets holding the mast footing onto the mast sheared off when raising the mast. An easy fix but inconvenient at the time. During one of my early outings the mast came down when a shackle bent, that was very inconvenient because I was quite far offshore, plus I stood on the sail and tore it when trying to pull it aboard. Ive renewed all the fittings now but I still tense up every time I tack!

I used to have an old windrush cat and that was much older but relatively trouble free, so don't know what I'm doing differently.

Those aluminum castings are not unique to the Wave, they've been used on just about every Hobie made since the mid '80s...the 17, 18, 20, 21, Tiger, and Wave. They're a very proven design. But if you hit bottom with your rudder while going backwards on a wave, it's very likely that you're either going to break some part of the rudder system or tear out the back of the boat.

I don't know if it's possible to do this on a wave, but maybe you can switch to nylon or aluminum rudder pins. This way if something happens, you break the rudder pin rather than a more expensive part of the boat. Also, don't lock down your rudders until you're sure you're in deep water and have enough speed that you won't get knocked backwards.

sm

Been sailing 14's, 16's, and now the Wave off Destin beaches since the mid 70s. Only once in 'red flag' surf and on-shore wind did I get in irons and shear a fiberglas rudder pin sliding backwards in the surf. It was bad judgement call...... and I knew better.

Hobies are mostly bullet proof. Perhaps your 'launching' techniques need a little more tweeking and practice.

First, you can not use fiberglass pins with the new system. It is a sortakindof reverse pintle design. The pins are part of the gudgeon sortakindof.

OK, that being said, I had a wave stored on top of a H-20 on a trailer. The wave blew off the 20 in a storm and landed on the rudder so that the boat was supported by one bow and the opposite rudder. The boat flew back 10 feet and hit only once. There was no drag mark or bounce. The rudder had a small scratch, 1/8th inch deep on the tip, but the plastic casting took no damage.

The surf can break almost anything given the right angle and such, but I was really surprised by the strength of the EZlock "casting.

A big advantage to the EZ Locks is that they are much more controllable. If you're launching in potentially shallow water, just put them down part-way until you're clear. If you realize you're being pushed backwards into the shallows, simply raise the tiller bar (a little or a lot), until you get back under control. Generally, they'll stay where you put them (up, down or in-between), but you can tighten the tension if they do want to drop on their own. It's not a locked-or-loose choice, like on the old style.

_________________
What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"

Cast aluminum is very unforgiving when it comes to flexing. The rudder castings will simply snap if overstressed. That would certainly be an advantage of the plastic rudder housings. They will bend rather than break. On the flip side, their tendency to flex would likely provide reduced rudder sensitivity (probably not a big deal on the Wave though).

But, as previously said, if you're breaking rudder castings regularly then you probably need to re-evaluate your surf launching technique. The original aluminum Wave rudder castings were used successfully for decades on several different Hobie models - a very proven design.

sm