I broke the upper tiller arm/casting on my 16. I had a spare upper port/starboard casting/tiller arm with crossbar set in my garage so I just put that on, seemed easiest way to get back on the water. No my rudders won’t lock down, it’s so close to wanting to trip the cam but it won’t. Should I just drill another hole in the rudder slightly aft of the current one? They are newer rudders so I don’t really want to make Swiss cheese out of them unless that’s the best plan. Or should I buy adjustable upper castings? Money I don’t want to spend considering I feel like mine are fine but whatever I need to do to get them to lock

There are 2 types of Hobie 16 upper castings. Non adjustable and adjustable, the adjustable ones have a bolt in the top to loosen and adjust. The holes drilled for both are different, not much but different. Years ago I bought a metal template for all Hobie rudder holes.
Check to see if the upper casting you put on is the same as the one you took off.

Both the one I took off and put on are no adjustable. I’m thinking I’ll either unbolt the upper casting, force it under the cam and then redrill a new hole. Or if I buy adjustable castings I’m hoping I can adjust it to trip the cam.

I’ve seen mods where people have drilled out the rivet that holds the roller into the old style upper casting. Then slot the hole in the casting and use a bolt with a nut that can be adjusted fore/aft. This simulates the new castings and allows the rudder rake to be adjusted. Might be a better option than redrilling your rudders.

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If you go from a non adjustable to an adjustable you will have to drill a new hole for it to work properly. Maybe go to the Hobie 16 forum on the Hobie site. I am sure they can give you advice for your problem.

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Edited by Dogboy on May 17, 2019 - 06:48 AM.

Unless the rudder is obviously drilled wrong as compared to a known good one, redrilling would be the last thing I'd try. A few possibilities....

Was the old upper casting damaged or just the tiller tube? If the latter, just switch the tiller tubes?

Was there a lower casting with the spare upper casting/tiller? If so, try using that (or look for another one?).

Got another spare rudder blade you can try?

A lot of these parts don't seem to have been made to tight tolerances. There are slight variations over time and wear/slop issues from years of use on old parts. All these things can contribute to lack of fit/interchangeability. Is the pin in the upper casting too far forward to trip the cam or too far back? If too far back, removing slop from the rudder pins, gudgeons, and/or castings may be needed.

Have you tested the lockdown with the boat in the water or just dry on the trailer?

Finally, a dab of white lithium grease on the plunger and along the cam where the plunger rides goes a long way toward ensuring proper kick up and lockdown.

--
Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
--

I guess your right, just replace the tube as the previous casting worked fine. Was trying to do as easy swap as possible but looks like I’m just making more work for myself.

If the only thing that broke was the tube, then definitely better to swap a tube than re-drill a rudder. The rive holes in the replacement tube may not line up exactly. If that’s the case, match drill a new rivet hole or two through the casting and tube - this is still better than redrilling an otherwise good rudder.

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