I found this article on stiffening Hobie rudders. Near the end he uses Black RTV to make a shim for the rudder blade to sit in. Is this a normal upgrade? Would plastic shims be sufficient?
http://home.earthlink.net/~mattson/hobie/archives/v1-i7/feature1.htm
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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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Hobie 14/16 rudder slop improvements
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Posted: Jun 18, 2014 - 02:05 PM
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Posted: Jun 18, 2014 - 02:06 PM
Clarification: Would JUST plastic shims be sufficient?
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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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Posted: Jun 18, 2014 - 02:27 PM
I've seen the workings of a brazillion Hobie 16s, and never once have I seen anyone mold anything in the lower casting in front of the rudder blade. It's surely overkill and may lead to unintended negative consequences.
Shims in the castings are common (and desirable if there's room in there for 'em).
That said, while it may "feel" better, I honestly don't think a little slop in the rudder system affects performance significantly. If the frame and tramp aren't good and tight, these little tweaks aren't going to help much. Rudder alignment and rake are next most important.
To get rid of all the slop, you'd need to renew/replace/shim/tighten the hiking stick/crossbar connection, crossbar/tiller connections, tiller/casting connections, pin holes in castings, pins, pin holes in gudgeons, etc. Then the system would probably be all bound up.....if you could even reassemble it.
Edited by rattlenhum on Jun 18, 2014 - 02:39 PM.
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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Posted: Jun 18, 2014 - 02:48 PM
Hobie makes "slop bushings" for the rudder pin connections. I installed them on my 18, along with the Hobie 20 connector kit (#1953) and some homemade shims made out of butter carton lids. Got rid of most (95%) of the slop.
Edited by presto13031 on Jun 18, 2014 - 03:56 PM.
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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Jun 18, 2014 - 05:54 PM
I've seen racers do this and it is actually not overkill. The original design of the rake adjustsble rudder castings has a small plastic screw in the bottom af the lower rudder casting which is intended to act as an adjustable stop for the front of the rudder blade. This allow you to have the rudder raked back away from the front of the rudder casting and still seat firmly. The problem, however, is that the small screw has a tendency to gouge into the front of the rudder blade causing damage and also negating the intended purpose of the screw. Using a silicone shim allows for a more forgiving stop so you don't have to use the screw and dig holes in your $500 rudder blades. This technique can also be used on older rudder castings which don't have the small screw in the lower casting. Another option is to use contact cement to bond a small piece of carpet to the rudder casting.
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Posted: Jun 19, 2014 - 07:10 AM
Great information guys.
I have cut some up and plan to install this weekend.
I will shoot in this order. Then I can feel the improvements as I go.
Shims
crossbar/tiller connections
then silicone if I am confident in my rudder rake
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FYC, Nacra 5.2 "Chris's Flyer" & Nacra Playcat
Previously owned: Trac 14, H14, H16, H18, N5.0, G-cat 5.0
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Posted: Jun 19, 2014 - 08:52 AM
I used the plastic lid for shims, seemed to work well...I made my own tiller connectors, something my P16 came without.
everything is pretty tight now except for the pin & gudgeons... any suggestions?
brass bushings perhaps, kinda costly though, custom machining...
I don't think plastic/nylon would hold up long any opinions?
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Steve
Oyama BC
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Long 119.3667 W
1700 ft
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Posted: Jun 19, 2014 - 09:05 AM
I have noticed no wear in about 25 sailing sessions on the black plastic Hobie bushings.
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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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