Sorry about you guys in Florida; I know you're getting pounded, and this is certainly not going to be a high priority for you. My prayers are with you.

Someone out there can help me. I have a 1990 Hobie 18 magnum and my port rudder really won't "snap" into place. It'll sort of lock down, but if it hits a stick or gets under a lot of pressure, it will release. It also makes it difficult to lock into place when I'm leaving the beach and trying to not get into irons or avoid the rocks off the beach. The cams are not worn, they still look good. I thought it was the adjustment screw on top of the connector, but I don't think that helped.

There's no Hobie repair manual out there. I've looked at all the tuning books.

Wyatt

There's a lot of Hobie specific information on Hobie Cat's community forums here.

There's a FAQ response on rudder adjustment here .

Wyatt...I suggest you take a close look at the cam. It may look fine but if it is old the hook section on top that engages the plate on the tiller arm may be deformed. Place it on top of a new cam and see if everything lines up. This may not be your problem but I think it might be.

Dan

Wyatt,
Your plunger is adjusted too close to the cam. You will be able to operate on the beach, but on the water it will work as you described. Just adjust it a little (forward) so the cam has more room to rotate down completely and all will be good.

Ken

I just wrote a bit more about cam adjustments on the Hobie FAQ that Matt Bounds linked to above. This now further describes the cam plate adjustment. Typical problem is that the cam plate is too far forward and does not allow the cam to lock completely. Carefull adjustment of the plate position is necessary...

To both Matts and all:

Thank you so much. Can you believe that after twenty years of sailing these things, I never knew about the Hobie Cat website?

Wyatt

My 18 (#555) is an older one, and I just gave up on the rudder adjustments altogether.

I drilled a ¼-inch hole through the highest point of both castings and inserted various items to act as a "shear pin".

Here's some that have worked fine for weeks at a time: short sections of nylon knitting needles, chop sticks, wood dowels, and just plain old wood twigs from the woods.

Just like shear pins for outboards, I carry spares.