Hobie 16 EPO Rudders Hole Filling

I sanded the inside of all the holes and then cleaned everything with acetone.  Then, I covered one side with painters tape.

I then dabbed some West System fiberglass resin into the holes so that it pooled up just a little bit.

I put in just enough to pool at the bottom.

I let it sit until it got tacky and then filled in the holes with West System epoxy resin with some 404 filler.

You can see the bubbles rise to the top.  They dissipated over time.

I will let these set overnight and check them tomorrow.

Hobie 16 EPO Rudder Drilling Holes Placement

I printed out the template.  I had to do it a second time because the first time the print did a "fit" and shrunk the printout.  I had to measure the lines in the printout to double check the size.

Here's what it looks like on the one extra rudder with the good holes:

It is pretty close to the H16 holes.

Here's the template on the other spare rudder with the hole penciled in:

It looks like I need to move the hole just a bit off.

I also compared the new rudder with the template and the hole for the upper casting is way off:

I'm pretty sure now I will be filling in all the holes on the rudders I am restoring and re-drilling them all.


I have to sail my H16 with my new rigging and my restored rudders to see if everything works as it should (slight rudder helm, etc.)  If all works out, I'll just match up my old rudders with these new ones and drill the holes that way,  I'll compare the template with the restored rudders and post them next.

Three Asides

Aside #1:  I got the paperwork back from the Texas Parks and Wildlife.  I had to fill out a few more forms, two of them over again to get them right.  Hopefully this will do it!

Aside #2:  While digging through the garage I found two spare H16 rudders.  They were badly scratched and stained but after a 80 grit followed by a 120 grit sanding, they look pretty good!  You can see this fifth pair in the background of one of the pictures in the previous post.  One of the rudders needs to be re-drilled to match the other which matches the other three sets, I'll take another picture when I have the template printed out.

There were holes already filled in and re-drilled, and there was a second hole as well in one of the rudders.  I filled in the extra hole, and the one that didn't match the other rudder, and penciled in where the hole needs to be drilled in between the two to match the other rudder.

Once I re-drill, I'll make a new set of rudders for the Hobie I am rebuilding, and sell the spare rudders I was using as a backup separately.

I can't believe that with the H16 EPO rudders I'll be restoring, this extra pair I found in the garage and all the castings, etc. I will have five complete H16 rudder assemblies for two boats...  I think I have a sickness or a disease.

Aside #3:  The rudders I am restoring may be drilled to be raked forward.  I have to check the template once I print it out.

Hobie 16 EPO Rudder Comparison

I don't know why I took all my Hobie 16 rudders apart, I hate trying to line up all the spacers used for stiffening them up when putting them together!

As it turns out, all my rudders are drilled the same.  However, the set I'm refinishing are not drilled the same.

First, here's the set of EPO rudders I refinished last year.

When I did the final sanding, I went through the top coat to the second coat below.

The blotches are the second coat showing through.  The finish is completely smooth...

Here's the three sets all sitting on top of each other, they all line up pretty well.

Since these all line up, I will suppose that these are the holes I'll need on the set I am refinishing.

Putting the set I'm refinishing on my finished set, the holes are not drilled in the correct locations, you can see they are off.

That means that I will fill in the holes with fiberglass resin and filler before I re-drill the holes.  It came off a H16, but I'm thinking that it might have been drilled for another Hobie?

After all this work, I found this template:http://static.hobiecat.com/digital_assets/rudderdrill.pdf  I'll have to print out a copy and see what I have!