Upgraded rudder system?

Wondering if there is a rudder upgrade path for the I12S. I have the sailing rudder but the steering cables require lots of adjustments and lubrication.

I really like the look and simplicity of Hobie's new system and I wonder if the parts can be purchased to upgrade the complete setup. I'm sure I could retrofit if I could buy the parts.

TIA,
Brian

79052437 I-SERIES TO I-TRK STEERING KIT ($310.00 USD 10/2022)

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

That looks great! Can i order direct or through a dealer?

Brian

Through a dealer.

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

Hello Hobie,

I just purchased two of these upgrades and they fit well but the cables to the rudder control and the rudder up/down line are about 12" short. My guy at the local dealer where I purchased them is not available for a couple days. Anyone here know anything?

Thanks,
Brian

Found this label on the underside of the steering handle. It appears that the cables are 70" long. I assume this would fit the I11S but they need to be a good 10" or so longer for the I12S.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DLj3v1ZcQT6UV2L76

The label on the box just mentions the I series, not the I11S in particular.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ECJ1HhQHRX7hbpPA9

As a new-ish Hobie owner, I find them to one of the more confounding outdoors/boat/wilderness companies I've dealt with in terms of clarity, parts compatibility, availability, and overall dealer knowledge. Nobody seems to know anything! They sell a $3K torqueedo drive that I have never seen in stock anywhere in the universe, the pedals on my iTrek 11 are labelled "Mirage 360" (when they are most certainly not!), the replacement cassette for my boat was nowhere to be found (even in the official hobie catalog until very recently), and nobody except for some great fellers in Australia could confirm which cassettes would fit my boat.

It turns out there is a "UNIVERSAL" cassette that fits lot of boats but I challenge you to find it on any US-based Hobie site. Instead you will find the "Eclipse" cassette, which is apparently the exact same thing but makes utterly no mention of which boats it would fit! Instead its specs are: "Cassette plug for Hobie Eclipse boards."

How hard can this be? lol

All of that said my iTrek is the best inflatable I've ever owned by a mile. I'm always extremely skeptical of venture capital, but from what I've read it may be that the dudes who bought this company are okay-ish, and it sounds like much of the leadership/staff have stayed on. Hopefully the new owners can fix up some of the basics when it comes to operations, and the geniuses who build these boats can keep on doing what they do.

I completely agree. I do think the potential is great and there's nowhere to go but up!