I might know the answer to this question but let me know your thoughts. I have an 07 H16, which used to be in a rental fleet, so not sure of the age of any of the parts. I noticed the port and starboard tacks do not have the same weather helm. Looking at the pictures of the rudders, there are clear differences.
When rudders are locked down, the port upper rudder casting sits well above the lower casting (I can see through the gap). In contrast, the starboard upper casting sits nice and flush to the lower casting. Both rudders do lock down though.
Starboard
Port
Also, the starboard rudder has more rake. it is 1 inch away from the hull, compared to the port rudder that has 1.5 inch gap. I have the cam stop plate on the port side all the way forward (max rake). The starboard is in the middle (not at max).
Starboard
Port
Port cam stop plate setting
Starboard
Port
Also, I noticed the following:
- The bolt holes in the two rudders are not in the exact same location.
- The lower castings do not have the same finish (i.e. they do not look exactly alike, though seem to have the same overall shape/dimensions)
Question is if the rudder hole position difference is the cause of the rake difference, or is there a difference between the port and starboard lower castings (not sure the pictures show enough to tell).
note:
You can see the rework on the port lower casting where the cam sister screws are set. I had to refill one of the screw holes with aluminum and redrill. I think I got close to the correct location, and do not think that is the cause of the rake difference. But I am not sure how much an error here would impact rake.
Thanks,
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Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
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