How Do You Raise The Rudder On Hobie Catamaran?

To raise your rudder, lift up on the handle to unlock the cam that holds the handle in place. If it is difficult to lift up, bump upward on the bottom of the tiller handle to disengage the cam. Once the handle is unlocked, lift it a little higher and pull it toward you to pull the rudder up and out of the water.

Reinstalling the rudder up line can be done by replacing the grey cord attached to the rudder with Dyneema Rudder Line Adjustment for Hobie Kayaks. If your rudder lines are too tight, the handle will be hard to move and cause rotating it down. To keep the boat pointed into the wind while beached, drift backwards with the rudders in the up position and your weigh towards the front of the kick-up feature.

When sailing, raise the rudders and drift back onto the beach. Always keep the boat pointed into the wind while beached and keep the sail trimmed out and un-cleated. For replacement parts for Hobie Cat rudders and steering systems, visit hobie.com.

To lower the rudder, push down on the tiller arm and pull up on the tiller arm. If the rudders keep popping up unintentionally while sailing, tighten the cam screw 12 a turn at a time until they stay down. Align the tiller arm angle with the rudder assembly on the opposite side of the boat and double check that the rudder is completely covered in the lower casting.

To lock down your rudders, simply push the tiller cross bar toward the stern (without really raising it) at each corner. The Dotan® Kick-Up rudder allows for instant rudder blade raising or lowering.