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 Post subject: Another Hobie Day???
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:56 pm
Posts: 58
Location: Durham NC
Went down to the coast this weekend with friends and dragged the hobie along. We were staying at carolina beach just south of wilmington. Unfortunately there was no real way to easily launch off the beach. Especially because I don't have 4wd. I found a launch spot on the inner coastal waterway that wasn't too far to an inlet that led out to the ocean and should have been a short trip down the beach where our friends and wives were waiting for us. My friend and I launch the boat and we finally get moving. Tons and tons of big motor boats causing all sorts of wake for us. The shrouds were really getting tested that's for sure or maybe I have them too loose. I think I need shorter shrouds but that's for another day.

Anyway we start heading out to sea and we are trying to decide if we should go or not. The waves were pretty good and rolling steady so I'm having doubts. Plus I've only been sailing the hobie for a year and I've only been out about 10 times on the boat. This would be my second day this year due to some surgery that set me back. Well while I'm being indecisive and figuring it out a gust of wind blows the boat around a full 180 degree's and we are now headed back in to the inner coastal. Hobie decided for us so we decided to just go with what the boat was telling us. We decide just to play around the inner coastal despite all the wake and boats. I wanted to get out on the trap so we beach the boat. Rudders kick up and I get all set up. Turn on the go pro and off we go. About a minute later I notice that steering is a little weird and that one of the rudders is at a very odd angle. I crawl back there and sure enough the upper gudgeon is no longer attached. We beach it again and I try to repair as much as possible to see if we can gimp it in. We get back on the boat and start heading to the launch ramp. At this point we are a good hour's worth of sailing away from the launch. Well I guess the strain of the gimpy rudder stresses all the other bolts and now the whole rudder detaches and the other rudder's upper gudgeon also strips out. Great. Luckily we have a paddle and we paddle over to the nearest dock.

We pull over tie the boat off and I start lowering the sails because at this point we have to get towed back. A nice gentlemen who owns one of the houses next to the dock on the inner coastal comes over and offers us a tow. He starts walking down the dock. I keep working on the boat and don't realize my friend has left and then came back 5 minutes later to tell me he just pulled a dead body out of the water. I had no idea and actually didn't hear any of the commotion. Later found out the guy had a heart attack and must of fallen in the water. Because nobody saw him fall in the water the police had to treat it as a crime scene until everything was figured out. Our boat was at the end of the dock and we had to wait until the police cleared up everything. Eventually we got a tow back that took forever because we were going against the current now and the Hobie just doesn't want to keep a straight line and of course I don't have rudders.

Whew, what a day on the water. Hopefully I can just drill out the holes, use some epoxy and get the gudgeons back on. Worst case scenario is I install ports and use through bolts and lock nuts. Going to stick to the lake for now.

Jim

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 Post subject: Re: Another Hobie Day???
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:49 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:00 pm
Posts: 560
Location: Charlottesville, VA
heelcat wrote:
Going to stick to the lake for now.


Wow.

Hopefully this won't make you stick to the lake forever, but ocean sailing means both you and your boat need to be in shape. It was a good thing you didn't make it to the ocean.

Crazy story, though! I can't imagine walking back to my crew, saying, "Sorry I'm a bit late; I had to pull a dead body out of the water."

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 Post subject: Re: Another Hobie Day???
PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 11:08 am 
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Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 10:33 am
Posts: 686
Location: Clinton, Mississippi
Yikes!

If those gudgeon screws were stock (#12), you should be able to tap them to 1/4" and get suitable SS screws at your hardware store. Fairly easy job.

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 Post subject: Re: Another Hobie Day???
PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 3:42 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:56 pm
Posts: 58
Location: Durham NC
We thought we were having a bad day dealing with my rudders. The death definitely let us know our problems were just minuscule compared to that families. He was fairly young. Mid-50's.

Anyway, a question about tapping. Most people recommend tapping and using marine tex. so do you fill the old holes with marine tex first and then drill and tap? Or do you drill and tap first, then slop some marine tex in there and drive the new bolts while the marine tex is still fresh? Or some combination of both. Just ordered a 1/4"-28 tap and the marine tex and hoping to get this done Thursday night and in the water by Saturday. Thanks amazon prime.

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 Post subject: Re: Another Hobie Day???
PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 3:51 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
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Location: Oceanside, California
Marine tex will not be strong enough to hold any threads. Maybe someone has used it as a filler for some reason or making a plug.

If stepping up the screw diameter to 1/4 - 28... you likely don't need filler anyway. You will drill the appropriate size hole for the tap and then you should be tapping into the aluminum plate.

If the existing holes are too large... I would install an access port / inspection port in the deck. Then through bolt with nuts and washers on the inside.

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 Post subject: Re: Another Hobie Day???
PostPosted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 11:14 am 
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Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 10:33 am
Posts: 686
Location: Clinton, Mississippi
Agree with Matt. Unless the previous screws were already oversized or really did a number wallowing out the holes, you shouldn't need filler. Just get a nice, clean tap all the way through the aluminum backing plate. The 1/4" screws are just barely larger than #12. When I did this, I didn't even redrill the holes......just tapped 'em.

If you haven't removed them already, take care to make sure you don't shear any of the remaining screws....that'll be a nightmare. They can get stuck pretty bad due to the dissimilar metal (SS/Al) thing. For this reason, when you reinstall, I'd recommend you use Tefgel/Lanacote or at least some automotive anti-seize compound. And don't forget to reseal the gudgeons.....might as well reseal the drain plug housing while you're at it!

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