Adjustable lower rudder castings

Just a question. I have adjustable upper castings and was wondering if I could machine my old lower castings to accept the adjusting screw to convert them to adjustable?

I think they used to make an up grade kit for that. You could always re drill your rudders for proper rake.

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Bodhisatfa

I've always wondered about that. How do you know you have it in the correct setting? I know about the measurements, but my boat is pretty close to what they call out and it has weather helm so strong that when you get going around 10-12 knots it is all you can do to hold onto the tiller. It becomes much more a wrestling match than any kind of subtle adjustment. You almost don't care what direction you're going, you just want it to end.
Anyway, with adjustable I figure you can fool around until you get it right. You can only redrill so many times I imagine.

Just fill the old holes with marine tex epoxy and re drill .

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Bodhisatfa

I'm not sure it would even be worth it. That adjustment screw is pretty crude in that it appears that it can only be adjusted to push the rudders out (further aft). I'm wondering if excessive weather helm would be improved more by pushing the rudders further forward under the boat. With the screw all the way in (counter clockwise) the rudder bottoms out on the casting much as it would with a non adjustable casting. You would still need to drill and fill in order to get more forward rake.

Have you read this article?

http://users.tpg.com.au/kkmiller/hobie/ ... _helm.html

Forget about the lower set screw. The rake adjuster slotted into the top casting is what you need to use to get rid of weather helm.

1.) Prop the back of the back of the boat up so you can lock the rudders down. Put a little dab of marine or waterproof grease on the cam surface where it rotates over the plunger. Lock down the rudders. Did they lock down? You should hear a nice snap if they lock down correctly.
2.) Grab the tip of the rudder and move it fore and aft but not hard enough to pop the rudder. Does the upper casting move relative to the bottom casting? If so, you need to tighten up the adjustment. Use a 1/2" wrench and a small phillips screwdriver. Loosen the bolt on the top of the top casting a half turn. Lean your leg against the bottom of the rudder. Use the screwdriver to push the bolt forward against the cam and tighten the bolt. Repeat step #2 until there is no movement when you tug on the tip of the rudder until it pops the cam. It should take around 3 lbs of force on the tip to pop the rudder.
3.) Go out and sail the boat and see how the helm is. You will need to recheck this adjustment once a year or so.
4.) If there is still too much weather helm then you may have to re-drill your rudders to rake them more under the boat.

cheers
Bill