Hobie Cat Forums

Gotta question:
I recently bought a 2nd H16 for a few parts and plan on parting out the rest. Looking at the rudders I found they are different than each other.

One is soft(ish) identical to the ones on my 1981 (the parts boat is registered as a 1982, serial is painted over). From my research these three seem like stock Hobie rudders.

The odd ball is HARD, dimensionally the same. It appears to be as old if not older than the other rudders condition wise (hard telling, almost everything on this boat was pretty beat up), hard to tell. Is this a old beat up EPO rudder or did hobies have a harder style rudder from the factory at some time?

I'm guessing that harder is better but I just want to make sure that I understand what I have.

Thanks again,

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Cesar (Cez) S.
'81 H16 Cat Fever - "He gone!"

I think they had Lexan and also an ABS plastic version of rudders at one time or another. Not sure EPO rudders were around in '82. One of the Hobie guys here will know.

There have been several different plastics used for rudders over the years - ABS, Lexan, and PCG I believe. One of the guys in our area that has an old 18 had a rudder on it that sounded like it was made from aluminum because I guess the plastic had hardened from sun exposure. Harder likely means more brittle and susceptible to snapping off.

The EPOs didn't come around until about '84. An EPO rudder will be black (and if it's as beat up as you describe it will probably have fiberglass fibers showing all over it's surface). It will also weigh about 1/2 as much as any of the solid plastic rudders.

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First rudders were ABS plastic. Hard, smooth surface, tended to yellow in the sun over time. Brittle - would often break just below the casting. Heavy.

Then came Lexan rudders. Very tough, flexible, had a waxy/translucent surface with some roughness that took a lot of elbow grease to get rid of. They also turn yellow in the sun, but not as bad as ABS. Usually the only way they failed was the top corner bolt hole sometimes broke off. Heavy. Made in the late 1970s - mid 80s.

During this time period, there were several non-OEM fiberglass rudders on the market. They came in all different colors, were heavy and had a gel coat finish. Hard & shiny, but easily scratched.

1984 - first generation EPOs. Very stiff, very hard, black finish. Very light. Thicker - they don't fit into old castings easily. Silver foil ID sticker near top of trailing edge (very rare to see anything but a shadow of that now). Years of exposure in the sun will bring out the fibers in the surface and fade them to a lighter gray, but they're easily refinished. Still the ultimate rudder if in good shape.

All of these rudders hummed very badly if you didn't re-work the trailing edge.

Late 80s / early 90s - plastic rudders change to black "PCG" type similar to Lexan.

Fiberglass Racer Rudders introduced in mid-90s to replace the out-of-production EPOs. These came in black or white. Characteristics similar to the old non-OEM fiberglass rudders, but were somewhat lighter.

Nylon rudders became the stock rudder material for non-racing boats in the 00's. Similar to Lexan in appearance, weight and bend characteristics.

Euro Carbon rudders made a short appearance in the mid 00s. Clear finish, with flying H and "Hobie Cat" in gray down the blade.

2nd Generation EPOs on the market in 2004 / 05 - three types - white / carbon / carbon-Kevlar. Only white and carbon being made today. Molded in ID sticker, so they're really easy to identify.

Neither the Euro carbon or 2nd gen EPOs hum - they're pretty much good to go right out of the box.

Winner winner chicken dinner, exactly what I was looking for, thanks

Matt, you said:


I'm sure there is something on this but can you clarify on re-working the trailing edge.

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Cesar (Cez) S.
'81 H16 Cat Fever - "He gone!"

I think I had read it in the FAQ, but basically just dragging an open pair of scissors along the trailing edge to take off the ridge there left from the mold operation.

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Steve
1979 Hobie 16 "Orange Crusher"

There's a FAQ for that: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=12859