Hobie 16 rudder repair questions

yelkenli1

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Registered: May 31, 2011

Last visit: Dec 17, 2023

Posts: 126
Posted: Nov 04, 2012 - 06:53 PM

I recently purchased a used H16, and have the following questions:
Does the rudder at the interface to the metal rudder castings need any repair, or should I just tighten it up with plastic spacers? See the pictures where the top coating is ground away.

Two more pictures show the bottoms of the rudder ground away also. I am not sure if the material inside was original material exposed, or if there was repair material added. Any thoughts? repair recommendations?

Also, not shown in pictures: The rudder cams required excessive force to toggle from position to position. I did not try to adjust the screw (should have played with this. I did remove the spring and plunger from the rudder castings, and removed the cams. None were hard to remove. One of the plungers is chewed up a bit. the other is ok, but not completely smooth. I feel like these should be replaced. Thoughts? The cams have some tool markings and one has a gouge, but they seem to still retain their shape. I think these can stay.

Thanks,
Ted

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Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
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pbegle

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Registered: Mar 12, 2003

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Posted: Nov 04, 2012 - 09:21 PM

Yes, plastic spacers to tighten slop. West epoxy with microballoons (West 404) will fill gouge. Fair it next day. Pete
klppurdy

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Posted: Nov 05, 2012 - 12:59 PM

the only thing i have ever really had go wrong with the hobie 16 rudder cams is the spring can tend to get bent and pop out from under the cam. were you springs straight? if they are straight you should be ok. as far as force it does require quite a pull to get them going, i usually pull or push from the bottom of the rudder where you have the most leverage.

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Kenneth Purdy
Hobie 16
Nacra 5.2 (2)
Banshee
First Coast, Florida
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yelkenli1

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Posted: Nov 06, 2012 - 05:11 AM

The springs are straight. They seem like they would be ok. the plastic tips on them are gouged and not smooth. that worries me. If i can replace just the tips, I will do that.

When I took this for a test sail, I could not get the rudders to lock down. one cam was in the up position, and one was in the down position. Somehow the upper rudder casting pulled out of the cam without the cam rotating into the up position. and the other one in the up position was too tight to rotate to the down position, even with all that leverage of the tiller tube. Is that something to worry about, or just a matter of adjustment of the Delrin screw?

pbegle: do you recommend using West Epoxy for the gouges at the rudder castings, or at the tips of the rudder (last picture), or both?

Thanks for your comments so far.

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Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
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klppurdy

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Posted: Nov 06, 2012 - 01:32 PM

Ok,

1. So you can lock the rudders down when the boat is not in water?
2. When they are locked down you should be able to grab the bottom of the rudder and (with some force) pull real hard straight back and they should pop out and up?

They should sit in the up position without any help. When you launch, push straight back and they should pop most of the way down. Depending on how fast you are going when you launch, you may have to give them a little help

Make sure you lube the you know what out of them. I usually spray a healthy shot of silicone lubricant directly into them.

If you are still having trouble, you may want to go with the kits (plunger and spring) , they are relatively cheap.

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Kenneth Purdy
Hobie 16
Nacra 5.2 (2)
Banshee
First Coast, Florida
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the-renovator

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Registered: Sep 29, 2012

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Posts: 441
Posted: Nov 06, 2012 - 04:11 PM

the problem with the Hobie cam setup is knowing when the cam is in the correct position

This is the correct position of the cam when the rudders are up

this is the incorrect position, the cam has rotated and if you try force the tiller arm down, you run the risk of breaking the cam at the lip

carefully rotate the cam up into the "neutral" position by using leverage

this pin recessed in the tiller arm strikes the top of the cam

rotating it down, and the lip of the cam captures the pin locking the rudders down.

Sometimes, when you use the tiller arms to raise the rudders, the cam will remain in the "engaged" position, better to let the rudders kick-up when hitting the beach, this will rotate the cams into the "neutral" position, HTH
the-renovator

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Posted: Nov 06, 2012 - 04:14 PM

http://www.thebeachcats.c…ictures/?g2_itemId=96266
yelkenli1

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Posts: 126
Posted: Nov 07, 2012 - 04:58 AM

Since this was a salt water boat, I will need to clean out the casting before re-installing the cams and springs. Any recommendation on cleaners to use, not use? or is the hardware insensitive to chemical attack. Also, is lithium all purpose grease acceptable?

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Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
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presto13031

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Registered: Jan 21, 2003

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Posts: 115
Posted: Nov 07, 2012 - 08:07 AM

For cleaning, try hot soapy water. Windex will dissolve salts too, but I would follow that with the hot soapy water. Grease will "attract" sand and dirt, but I use the occasional squirt of CLP (gun cleaner/lubricant) on mine.

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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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MN3

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Posted: Nov 07, 2012 - 08:42 AM

there is a "all purpose tool "that makes resetting the cams very easy. can even be used while on the fly
you need to drill a very small hole in the cam (for the tool to "bite") but it is no problem to do

http://www.murrays.com/archive/30.pdf
klozhald

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Posted: Nov 07, 2012 - 09:12 AM

yelkenli1Also, is lithium all purpose grease acceptable?

Ted,
Don't use lithium grease anywhere on your boat but the crossbar bolts to keep them from seizing.
If your rudders need to glide better in your castings, use plastic shims meant for this, available from Murray's.

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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
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yelkenli1

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Last visit: Dec 17, 2023

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Posted: Nov 07, 2012 - 06:42 PM

Thanks everyone for the advice and pictures. They are very useful. I will be posting more questions as I work my way around the boat.

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Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
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rattlenhum

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Posts: 425
Posted: Nov 08, 2012 - 12:30 PM

klozhald
yelkenli1Also, is lithium all purpose grease acceptable?

Ted,
Don't use lithium grease anywhere on your boat but the crossbar bolts to keep them from seizing.
If your rudders need to glide better in your castings, use plastic shims meant for this, available from Murray's.

Bob....I think Ted's question is in regard to the rudder cam rotating....not the blade. Further, there ain't no crossbar bolts on a Hobie 16!

I resisted using grease on my Hobie 16 rudder cams for years thinking it would attract dirt and grime. This simply isn't the case, and the cams rotate SO much better using it. You only need a dab where the cam slides on the plunger. I use the white lithium grease, and can unlock my rudders easily by pulling forward (to help the pin/bar stay engaged in the nook of the cam) and up. If you do get some grime, put a little dishwashing liquid in there...it cleans and lubes, too. When that washes off....another small dab of grease. Hobie and all the Hobie 16 hot-shots recommend the grease.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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DamonLinkous

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Posted: Nov 08, 2012 - 02:30 PM

Greasing the plastic cam/plunger is definitely the way to go. I'm just like rattle, I didn't grease for years because I believed (someone probably warned me against it when I was a newbie) that grease would cause binding problems due to sand/dirt attraction.

Not true, and it's not that important what kind of slippery stuff you put on. I use the white trailer ball grease because I keep a small jar of it in my sailing toolbox, works great. But Axel grease, motor oil or pretty much anything water-resistant and slippery will do the job.

Info on this direct from Hobie.
http://www.hobiecat.com/s…/articles/rudder-tuning/

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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rattlenhum

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Posted: Nov 09, 2012 - 12:20 PM

DamonLinkous I'm just like rattle, I didn't grease for years because I believed (someone probably warned me against it when I was a newbie) that grease would cause binding problems due to sand/dirt attraction.

PSSST.....Damon. My avatar and sig are back from vacation, so you no longer need to use my super secret code name.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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DamonLinkous

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Posted: Nov 09, 2012 - 11:59 PM

rattlenhum
DamonLinkous I'm just like rattle, I didn't grease for years because I believed (someone probably warned me against it when I was a newbie) that grease would cause binding problems due to sand/dirt attraction.

PSSST.....Damon. My avatar and sig are back from vacation, so you no longer need to use my super secret code name.

HaHa, didn't want to blow your cover, never know when someone is dodging the feds or is in trouble at work for spending too much time on the Interweb.

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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN

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