Hobie Cat Forums

As like most of us on this site we sail for fun not to race. I have made my boat non class legal with sails and other parts. While backing up my boat the other day one of my rudders came down and broke. So im in the market for a new rudder set and all I have found were stock rudders and epo2's are there any other ones out there or am I stuck with the ego's. Don't get me wrong they look cool but before I drop $500 I want to see what every one else thinks.

If you were racing, the answer would be very simple - EPO's are a must.

However, since you aren't, we get into the nebulous grey zone. They will make the boat more responsive and (presumably) the sailing more enjoyable. You will go faster with less cavitation and have better tiller feel. However the question is whether these improvements are enough to justify the cost. That is a question only you can answer. Perhaps you can find a similar boat with EPOs and give them a try.

There's my 2 cents.

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Jeff R
'88 H18 "Jolly Mon"
Sail Michigan's Great Lakes in 2013
cramsailing.com

EPO's of any vintage are da kine.

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If you use the search function, you'll find zillions of posts discussing EPOs.

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Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205

Stock rudders will be best for your needs. The EPO's at really nice for racing, but need a little more care than the stock nylon blades (i think it's nylon now). My wave blew off the deck of my 20 (stored stacked, needed more tie downs), and landed on one blade. No damage. The EPO would have at least needed chip repair, but I expect far more. The performance difference is real, but if you are just blasting around, the stock blades are great. Hit a rock, no worries. Get the picture.

That's cool now should I look for some old used ones or new ones? Are there any difference in those? Im really surprised that no one else makes rudders for these boats since there are so many of them around.

Cat sailing is an extremely small niche market. It'd be like making collars for pet penguins, who's gonna buy them? That's why nobody else makes anything for these boats.

I have EPO 2 rudders on my H16. If I did need to replace them, I would go stock since I do not race.

I live in the LA area also - if you want to take a ride and see if you like the feel,
let me know.

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1979 Hobie (sold)
1983 Hobie 16 Hawiian Sunset (sold)
1981 Hobie 16 Tequilla Sunrise - still own
2008 Hobie 16 (currently sailing the crap out of this boat)
1977 Super Sunfish
John

Thanks alot. Do you go out much in this cold weather? We were going to get together a while back but I got bussy. Pm me and we can get together one weekend

If the temp is above 70 degrees I go. But this week we have seen 60+ mph winds -

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1979 Hobie (sold)
1983 Hobie 16 Hawiian Sunset (sold)
1981 Hobie 16 Tequilla Sunrise - still own
2008 Hobie 16 (currently sailing the crap out of this boat)
1977 Super Sunfish
John

I recently had the same dilemma, and I think that epo2's make very little difference unless you race, and I am just a recreational sailor. So what I did is found a good set on eBay, ordered them (bought two for about $80) sanded them a little and sprayed on some $5 white spray paint and they look brand new.