A few tech questions

Hi Matt,

I have a 10.5 on order, and I have been peddling and fishing my Revo 11 for a couple of years now. Being an engineer,water enthusiast and an 11 year Hobie 16 sailer, I am stoked to get one of these as an early adopter!

I wanted to ask:

Can the rudder be trimmed for the "neutral" position?

How does the roller fit into the Eclipse?

Not familiar with the board construction, can padeyes or other components be attached?

Is top speed of 10 m.p.h. (for a normal) humanly possible? (Hard for me to maintain 6 on the Revo)

Thanks for your info!

Wil

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Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

The rudder is always centered unless you're steering - it will always go back to center when you let go of steering control levers.
The cart plugs into the bottom - very similar to the i series inflatable kayaks (same cart design)
Its molded in Epoxy fiberglass - you don't want to put holes in the board the foam would then be exposed to water.
They're similar in speed to our Mirage kayaks in the same length - but 10mph sounds too fast, I think half that is the norm.

You'll love the Eclipse - they're such good fun!

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Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

Thanks for the replyJacques!

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Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

I think the rudder trim question is aimed at fine tuning. Usually factory adjustments are not perfect, so the board will inherently not go in a perfectly straight line when the levers are released. Is it controlled with cables that can be adjusted similar to the Mirage kayaks? Other adjustment methods shown below...

Outboard lower unit adjustment tab:


Rudder adjustment tab

Not the same as Mirage Kayaks. You need to pull the calipers to tension the lines... then steer. It would be easy to maintain a slight rudder turn as it is natural to be holding the calipers.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Matt,

Yes, but is it easy to maintain a straight line? Does the rudder always return to perfectly straight when you release the calipers? There must be some adjustment. What happens if a rudder is slightly bent? Is there a way to adjust the neutral position to get the board going in a straight line?

It has not been an issue. It self-centers by bungee tension, so that "could" be adjusted I suppose. You always seem to need some steering tweak due to winds, chop, currents etc. Is not going to track straight for a quarter mile or something... No boat does.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Finally saw a Solar 10.5 at my local yak store, great looking craft!

Can't wait to get mine!

Observation: The yellow glass deck had a little round ding on an otherwise flawless skin. Looks like when the Mirage drive is out, the peddles sit "flush". There is a screw head underneath the back end of the peddle that extends beyond the black drive arm deck cushion. Pressure had to be put on the peddle that pushed the screwhead into the deck about 1 inch aft of the black cushion.



I will be attaching a high density foam under the peddle ends to protect the deck from this occurring!

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP