Hobie Cat Forums

Does anyone know if the 21SC rudders are interchangeable with anything else? If they are unique one of a kind, what is unique? Is it the basic blade shape, the hole pattern, or both?

I am thinking when you buy new ones, it is up to the buyer to drill the holes anyway. I haven't started down the road of trying to match up part numbers yet, but I am thinking I may get lost in the maze of plastic vs fiberglass vs EPO, etc.

Thoughts? Anyone been down this road before?

The blades on a 21SC are the same profile as every boat but the H20 and 21SE.

EPO will work well.

Standard rudders on the 21SC were nylon / plastic.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Thanks Matt. This is very helpfull info.

Are the hole patterns common as well?

Rudder blades come blank - no holes. You can either get the template online, or use your existing blades as a drill guide.

Thanks Dog, good info.

The fact that they come as blanks suggests that the hole patterns are all different and I should not try to use some used ones from another model boat. Is that correct?

Partially true. The Hobie 14/16 rudder castings are different than those used on the other boats. So you'd not want blades from a 14 or 16. Blades from the bigger boats should fit fairly close, but you might have to dink with the cam plate setting in the upper casting.

Brian

You could use those rudders. You'd just have to fill the existing holes with epoxy and re-drill for the other castings.

sm

True... I'm assuming that the reason for getting used blades is to make it as hassle free and inexpensive as possible. Filling and drilling is a PITA.

It is looking like I will be buying new rudders soon. I would hate to go cheap just to spend more money later.

What's different between the standard white nylon rudders and the epo2 white polyester? Is it just the material or is there a shape difference? If it is stiffness, will I actually notice a difference?

Just wondering if the epo2's are worth double the price.

Any thoughts?

I suggest using the old blade if possible as some owners have upgraded castings.

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Jerry Malone

I have been thinking of building my own rudders. My Tornado rudders and centerboards are built out of wood. I am assuming they are balsa, but would like input from other who may have input on possible woods. This should be very easy to build using the old rudder as a template and shaping similar to surfbaord or fins. With 2 layers of 2 oz cloth and epoxy they should hold up great. If I knew how to post pictures I would show everyone my Tornado rudders and centerboard.

I for one would love to see picures and hear how well they work.
good luck.

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Jerry Malone

I hope these pictures show.
[img]<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ztU7LaainAYNRqrZdaW-AA?authkey=Gv1sRgCKC6n_-33_-8ywE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zmSvk2S_CtI/SeIYoLTzbSI/AAAAAAAAAB0/uOTQqEhLeh0/s144/SN850067.JPG"></a>
[/img]<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SwyZu_WyRcKEoW9-hy7s1A?authkey=Gv1sRgCKC6n_-33_-8ywE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zmSvk2S_CtI/SeIYr_zL6wI/AAAAAAAAAB8/mqrC7Z7kVIM/s144/SN850068.JPG"></a>

Let me know your guess of type of wood.

I could not see the pictures until I start t post the reply, the pictures showed up on the preview.

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Jerry Malone

Unless you have a way to properly shape the foil cross-section, I doubt home-made rudders will perform very well. The foil shape is critical in keeping the water flow attached to the rudder when turning. If it isn't correct, the rudder will just stall and suck down air which will just make the boat go slow (and it still won't want to turn). These days, all good rudders and daggerboards are made in highly accurate CNC machined molds.

Not trying to rain on your parade, and if you want to go for it, have at it. Just be aware that this is not simply a matter of tracing the outline of the old rudder onto a sheet of wood, rounding the leading edge with a sanding block, and laminating on a few layers of glass. I know someone that tried to make his own wooden rudders by hand shaping them, and they really didn't work at all- a lot of effort for poor results, they ended up in the garbage. You could probably make reference templates of the cross-section of an existing blade, but still, it would have to be quite accurate to work well and it would be a substantial amount of work.

sm