Drilling Hobie 18 rudders

I recently picked up a used 1984 H18 magnum. Boat has black EPO rudders with newer adjustable gudgeons. Rudders were showing glass and had been drilled a couple of times. I removed the rudders filled all holes w/ West epoxy/filler and coated rudders w/ West/graphite. They look great! Printed rudder pattern to drill new holes and drilled. I am having trouble getting the cams to pop when lifting tiller. I have monkied with everything I know of and can't get them to pop. Possibly the cams are shot, but they look O.K. Any help or step by step instructions would be appreciated!

Hi, I have my Cams set very lightly tightened. The rudders stay down when sailing and need very little to bump them up. Make sure to use a good grease on everything, cam/spring/you name it. Cheers[/color]

You say you have the newer adjustable "gugeons". I assume you mean the newer rudder castings.? (There's no such thing as adjustable gugeons.)

There's a FAQ on this forum about getting the adjustable castings set properly.

The jist of it is that you need to loosen the adjusting plate on the upper casting, lock the rudder down, and then slide the adjusting plate all the way forward so it is fully seated in the cam. If it isn't forward all the way, the tiller arm will lift up, but it won't trip the cam and the cam will stay down. Having new cams can definitely help as old ones get worn out and soft. If all the parts are old, a total re-build may be in order (replace the cam and plunger).

A small amount of lube on the contact surface of the cam (where it engages the plunger) helps a lot in getting the cam to rotate. I prefer to use white lithium grease or bearing grease- something that won't wash away.

Last, you need to set the plunger force by adjusting the large plastic screw on the underside of the lower casting (below the cam). You tighten or loosen this screw to change the amount of force required to get the cam to rotate.

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Let me add my 2 cents .....

Where are you sailing ??? Fresh Water Lake or Salt Water off a beach???

You need to keep the cams/plungers lubricated as SRM stated ..... but if you are launching/sailing in a "sandy" enviorment you need to use a lubricant that will not hold dirt/sand/grit as these will bind up the mechanism. As I sail in salt water off a sandy beach I use a "Dry Lube" spray lubricant. There is "silcone grease" that works well or you can use vasoline which can be washed out w/ soap and water ..... all the lubricants mentioned in this thread work well depending on the enviorment .... take your pick.


Cams:
The plastic cams should be considered a "wear item" and be replaced fairly often. Now ANY wear/deflection in the center post area of the plastic cam means its done/finie'/kuput!!!! Now my trick is to fill the hollow side of the rudder cam w/ "Marine Tex" (the excess sands off easily) thereby providing support to the center post and preventing the deflection of the center post. Scuff up the inside of the cam before filling w/ "Marine Tex" so it will adhere to the insides. (I've tried other fillers like epoxies but the Marine Tex is "sticky" enough to adhere to the plastic better then all the others) I make up several sets at a time and keep them in my spare parts box.

I carry a "putty knife" on my boat .... to unlock a "stuck cam" slide the putty knife vertically between the cam and casting , pushing down on the plunger under the cam. When you push down you will be able to rotate the cam easily w/ your free hand.

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11