One of the major upgrades that you can make to your Hobie is to upgrade you rudders. This is a bit of a big deal, and will make a large difference, not in performance, but in feel, ease and comfort for you. If you have an older boat, with the polyester type rudders (White rudders) the more used they get, the more they have a tendency to curl in right and left.

Since the two hull design of a Hobie 16 has no dagger boards, the rudder almost acts like a dagger board at the same time. If there is a lot of pressure on the rudder, like if you where flying, or close to it, the rudder will curl toward the boat. This will make turning harder, and keeping the boat going straight a bit of a challenge. To fix this problem, I recommend upgrading your rudders to the EPO rudders, (Black rudders.) They are made of Carbon Fiber Epoxy, this makes them a lot more stiff, and they will not bend under pressure, making it easier to control the boat, and you will not have to fight the boat as much to keep it going straight. These rudders can be a little bit pricey, so if you find some used ones, they should work just as well. Here are some pictures of the difference in rudders.

*To Protect your rudders, check out these Rudder Covers

EPO Rudders

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