My 14 turbo has been messed around with before I purchased it recently. Getting things sorted, but not sure about the whole rudder assembly. Parts seem a little worn and sloppy. Have LOTS of weather-helm! Can anyone give me some advice re what to look for to decide if various parts need replacing and what settings to start with etc.. I'm a little nervious to just rip it all apart and then not know what to do next! Any info or suggestions re set-up and maintance would be greatly appreciated.

If you are getting a lot of weather helm, you can try to rake your mast, or rake your rudder blades forward a bit.

Also, if the blades aren't going down all the way, you can end up with a world of weatherhelm.

Here are a few more items.
If you don't have the hobie catalogue then go to hobiecat.com for pictures of the rudder assembly. When I bought my h14 the rudder system was really jury rigged. the tiller connection system had been replaced with a couple of rusty 1/4 inch bolts. The hobie catalogue shows a replacement kit for $11. It looks like the same one I bought. (cat. no. 3052)
If the rudders slop around in the lower casting then a rudder stiffening kit for $6.25 (cat no. 136) will help.
You can fabricate those washers yourself if you wish.
Another thing: The tiller assembly can be mounted improperly on your cat with the left side on the right and right on left. This will cause your rudders to be seriously out of allignment.
I believe you can find a lot more about rudders if you try the search feature on this forum.
Greg
H14,H16

Thanks to you guys for your replies.

Greg, great advice thankyou. Since I posted I've done what you said and have been back through all the old posts and picked up some great info. My rudder assembly is currently all over the garage floor, but I'm having a great time!

You have found the greatest advantage of sailing a Hobie, the vast quantity of truly expert advice.
The Hobie 14 has been sailed by so many people for so many years that any question you can think of has been ansewerd many times over and the best answer proven.
While new parts can be expensive, there are usually plenty of "pre-tuned" parts available at reasonable prices.
Good luck.