Older 16' rudder problems

Ok something is wrong here, I've moved the adjusters to the same spot and this is what I've got. I have no clue what's going on here. Any thoughts? Note where the tiller hook up is (kinda hard to see)

Swapped the rudder assemblies.

Move the left one to the right side and visa versa...

The tiller arms should bow inboard from the upper rudder castings.

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

Thanks miller, I'll give that a shot after work.

And once they're swapped and you're sure it's correct, I'd recommend putting a piece of electrical tape on the starboard side as a reminder for the future. Better yet......green on starboard and red on port.

Don't dismay.....I expect any of us that hasn't done that before eventually will! It tows the rudders way out and makes your cat sail like a dog!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

Kinda hard to see, got a late start on it but this looks much better. Does it look right to you guys? Still got some fine tuning to do with the adjuster to get them lined up.

Since we're on the topic of rudders, any trick to installing rudder shims? It has a ton on slop so a friend and I made an attempt at installing them and I just couldn't get them to slide in there. Seems to me there's a trick for everything on these boats, what's the Houdini magic trick to putting these on.

Hang the first shim on the bolt, barely protruding from the casting, then put the rudder in and slide the bolt almost through the rudder.

The second shim is tougher - you need to slide it in from the part of the casting closest to the bolt hole. If you can get part of the shim hole to show through the casting hole, you can get it positioned properly with a small screwdriver, then slide the bolt home.

Or, you can make a "shim pusher" out of sheet metal (same thickness as the shim) - just a piece of sheet aluminum with a radius cut in that fits the shim and can be used to position it properly.

I'm new to this whole hobie thing but i just restored a 70's 16 i taped the shims onto the rudders with a long piece of painters tape. ( halfway over the top of the shim) the slid the rudder in from the bottom so i wasn't working against the tape. left the tape long enough to extend out from the casting. after bolting the rudder on i pealed the tape off, it tore where the shim and casting meet leaving a little tape on the shim. have had no problems, and it was much easier then hanging the shim from the bolts as stated above. but whatever works works.

after shimming my rudders they worked better and steering was improved, however i ended up drilling out the castings and putting nylon bushings in the now slightly larger holes to take up the slack along the pins. after that there was a night and day difference.

nathan

I'll give both these methods a try, already tried the bolt method but I'll try it again in better daylight. The shims act like they are hitting something when I try sliding them in while holding the rudder in place with no bolt in there. There isn't a lip or anything so I'll mess with it more later today.

David Hall wrote a great article: Towards the "No Slop" Rudder in the March 1997 issue of: On The Wire

https://www.thebeachcats.com/OnTheWire/earthlink/_mattson/hobie/archives/v1-i7/feature1.htm

I made my own shims from old plastic milk jugs and the tops from yogurt containers (the clear or white plastic ones match my Lexan rudders better) and they have been working fine now for 5 years. I also used tape to hold them in-place while putting them together. Don't forget to use SS hardware with nylock nuts (in case you need to adjust how easily the rudders move up/down when you lift the tiller arm).

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

I'm admiring the boat lift. How is it powered?