Hobie Rudder Gudgeons Is one style better than the other ?






Edited by in812 on Mar 18, 2020 - 04:15 PM.

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H14
H16
H18
H18
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The ones in your first picture are the newer version. They are stronger due to better lateral support. The earlier version in the bottom picture had a tendency to snap off. Since that looks like a Hobie 18 transom, I would change them out to the stronger ones due to the higher rudder loads. I also highly recommend using stainless steel rudder pins on the 18. Aluminum have a tendency to snap under load.

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Yes they are 18 hulls and the top picture is the set of hulls Im going to use this year
Thanks

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H14
H16
H18
H18
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i'll check between my 78 and 83 what i have. The last set of pins i got from Hobie dealer are some sort of "glass" fiber. i use aluminum and keep them as spares. they don't corrode in the box, so , good spares they make.

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1978 H18
1983 H18 (some of it)
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The upgraded gudgeons came out at around the same time as the upgraded rudder castings - 1986.

I would highly recommend against using glass rudder pins, especially on an 18. They are simply not up to the task. Even aluminum will break - seen it happen first hand on more than one occassion. For $20 you can buy a set of SS pins that will last forever and never break. Not something worth messing around with IMO. A broken pin will ruin your day for sure.

sm

I've only ever seen the gudgeons on the first photo on older boats and the smooth barrel ones in the second photo on basically every other boat up to late ones.

Never heard of them breaking either but I guess now I'll just go weld some extra fillet in there for the heck of it.

And yea aliuminum pins either eventually break or can get scored up. I cut some 316 stainless ones for all my boats. People that think youd rip the back end of your boat off because the pins arent sacrificial anymore seem crazy to me. Pretty sure you'd shear off the screws holding them on the transom, or straight break the rudder off before the back end of a hobie is going anywhere. There's a plate glassed into the back of the boat that everything threads into. Shes strong.

I've only ever seen the gudgeons on the first photo on older boats and the smooth barrel ones in the second photo on basically every other boat up to late ones.

Never heard of them breaking either but I guess now I'll just go weld some extra fillet in there for the heck of it.

And yea aliuminum pins either eventually break or can get scored up. I cut some 316 stainless ones for all my boats. People that think youd rip the back end of your boat off because the pins arent sacrificial anymore seem crazy to me. Pretty sure you'd shear off the screws holding them on the transom, or straight break the rudder off before the back end of a hobie is going anywhere. There's a plate glassed into the back of the boat that everything threads into. Shes strong.

The fiberglass pins were specifically sold for sailing out through the surf- when a rudder would be touching the ground while the boat was pushed backward by the surf. You would snap a pin rather than break castings, rudders or the transom. How do you sail? Is this a concern?

You can see the cracks in the gudgons before they fail. If they do not show signs of cracking upon close inspection- why make work of breaking bolts in the transom? If there are cracks- you should change them. Mine cracked behind the barrel in the tight fillet. Many boats require deck ports to hold nuts on the back of the bolts. It is nearly impossible to drill new bolt holes by hand where the existing bolts are. Plan this carefully. Don't fix it if it ain't broke.

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David
Inter 20
Southern Maine
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