Hello all,

I have some loose movement in my rudder due to worn castings; maybe I can increase the pin diameter from the standard 3/8", but in case it doesn´t work, is there any way of redrilling the castings?; is there any kit for it?

Thanks for your help!

Marin
HC16- 104626

There's a couple of different ways to do it.

You can use a slightly larger pin, but the problem is that the holes in the castings aren't evenly worn. Unless you drill out the castings (both the lower rudder housing and the one-piece gudgeon), you're still going to have slop.

A less drastic solution is to fill the holes with epoxy (sand the holes first to get really good adhesion), then drill them out to 3/8" again. You'll end up with a thin layer of epoxy around the hole and virtually no slop for about a year.

A more drastic solution is to drill out the castings to accept plastic bushings (Hobie Catalog page 32 here). Long-term, that's probably the best solution, since the bushings are easily replaceable if they get worn.

Yhanks for the reply !
Just in case drill the casting, how can I assure that I am not going out of the straight line with the drill and not making a grater diameter hole?
... as you can see, I am not a DIY expert !!
Marin

I did this same repair with my H16. I used the Hobie nylon inserts, which requires you to drill the hole out to 7/16". It's not 100% critical that they be drilled squarely, but of course, perfect is always a good goal. I just clamped my castings in a vise and hand drilled the holes. It worked good and really tightened up the slop. The mounts on the boat should be stainless steel, so the aluminum rudder pins shouldn't of worn them at all. Get the bushings and some new pins and you'll be in good shape for very little money.

Jack
Fort Loramie, Ohio