AI twist and stow rudder locked down

I want your opinion before doing this mod.
I want to lock down the rudder, it's always a problem in rough sea, so this is my simple idea:

Unscrew this screw:



with the rudder locked down drill a hole:



Lock the rudder with a something, I use an aluminium wire, easy to dismantle before beaching.



5 screws I think are enough, what do you think about this mod?

thank you

ok I did it

The hole luckily is in a perfect location, next to the rib


I have two way to lock it,
with this aluminium wire



I bent it both sides



or with a rope



I will test it soon

That should work. I have to lock down mine as well. I drilled through a different section. Same principle. I use a bolt that fits very snugly in the hole. It sucks having to forego the lifting feature of the rudder, but the trade off is much, much better handling and steerage.

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2007 AI - starting to fall apart

My opinion: scary. Don't go far offshore.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

I don't understand why you guys haven't upgraded the rudders. Hobie offered a free upgrade from the twist-n-stow years ago. No locking issues on the new island rudders.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

Tom, the new vertical rudder came in with the 2011 AI boats, maybe 2010 on the Tandem. Earlier boats cannot be upgraded.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

My apologies. I thought that all of the boats were upgradable.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

Keith is correct re the upgrades and on being wary of this mod.
The rudder upgrade only fitted '11AI's and onward hulls with the larger transom.
All TI's had the larger transom.
I posted a pre new rudder lock down mod here
https://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtop ... 69&t=32924
but ended up cracking the rudder housing when pushed backwards into a sandbar. I'm not sure if it was due to the mod or not.
Just something to be wary of.
If I still had the smaller transom I'd be looking at a way to adapt the sharkfin rudder to fit. It shouldn't be too difficult to mod the transom so the larger gudgeon/rudder pin could be attached. I'm thinking a small stainless 'U' section through bolted to the lower transom along with packers etc.
Access could be an issue though?

why?

Because you have voided a major safety feature by preventing the rudder from kicking up. It may make it more likely that the rudder shear pin will break leaving you to make your way to shore w/o a rudder. If you would hit something, like a floating log, maybe floating under the water surface, you may break the gudgeon and have to get back to shore w/o a rudder. Worst case scenario would be damaging the transom and causing a serious leak in your boat.

You asked for opinions about your mod. I gave you mine. You are the captain of your boat--do anything you want.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon