Help request south of Tampa Bay...

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes:

I've got a G-Cat that I want to put a Hobie 18 rudder system onto. I've got the rudder system, but it needs to be rebuilt. I bought the kit to do it but have no clue what to do with the parts. I also bought new blades for it, one-piece mounting brackets, and made some big aluminum backing plates for the brackets.

One of the transoms of my G-Cat is a little tore up. Both have been reinforced with some thick glass mat on the inside but I doubt the quality of that work. It seems as though I could tear it out with my bare hands.

I'd like to pay someone to fix the transoms, rebuild the rudder system, install the rudders onto my G-Cat, and tune the system so it sails well. I'll be out of state for the rest of the month, and would like to get this done when I return in July.

Only place to call is Ellie's Sailing Shop in Clearwater. Stu 727 442-3281 He has done a ton of G's.

Terry

Hey Terry,
Isn't the G-Cat designer in your neck of the woods? Could he help or is that not his thing?

Hans has worked on it before, and I was less-than-impressed with his work. It is why I'm still having rudder problems after the stock system broke 5 years ago when a storm flipped the boat on the beach.

He recomended and installed a set of Dotan Sampson 25 rudders on my boat, used screws instead of bolts to mount them, missed the backing plates, and never adjusted the rudder system. The result was horrific weather helm and having one rudder rip right off the transom.

I was hoping to find someone south of the bay and avoid hours of driving. But hey, my summer schedule after this month should be pretty lax.

Terry is right, Stu at Ellie's is really the guy you need. Call him and set up a Friday appointment. He'll show you everything he's doing and tell great stories while he's fixing it like new. Have him cut new shrouds while your there. Then pull the boat over to the Dunedin Causeway and camp Friday and Saturday with the beach rats on Island 4 and sail all night and all day and all night and all day. Bring beer, enough to last several days. You'll see LOTS of GCats and half the people you'll meet have owned one at some time. I think Dunedin is ground zero for GCats. Did I mention that you should bring beer?

Dave, the proper name for island four is I-4 and is just south of Nipple. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />