Hobie Rudder Information

Hobiecat or Hobie has become the goto phrase for all things beachcat, much like copies are all Xerox. 

Even among Hobies, there is quite a bit of variation. There is chatter among class rules for "stock" vs aftermarket and so it's important to understand what rudder were stock on what boats. 

Hobie 14, Hobie 16, Hobie 17, Hobie 18, Hobie Wave and Hobie Getaway sailboats come/ came stock with plastic rudder blades prior to the H16 Global edition. 

In 2024 the standard plastic blade was discontinued, and the only available plastic blade produced is the EZ Loc rudder blade, which is the same shape, but with two indents near the trailing edge for the EZ Loc nubs to hold the blade up and down. 

The Hobie Miracle 20 came with larger fiberglass blades that are about 5.4-5.6 lbs each with white gelcoat and are prone to splitting at the front of the head of the rudder blade. This can commonly be resolved by using a cutting wheel and cutting/ grinding out the adhesive and glass fragments used to glue the two halves together. There can also be cracking from the rudder holes towards the edges. 

The EPO 1 blades produced during the Coleman Hobie years are often thought of to be one of the best blades to use. These blades typically weight 4.2-4.4 lbs and are black with an EPO decal on the trailing edge. The older H18 aluminum rudder castings were changed shortly after the EPO blades were introduced to accommodate the wider blade width. These blades often don't need any shims to fit in your rudder castings. 

The EPO 2 blades came in a few color options. Basic transparent cloth/ kevlar showing through with sort of a green/ yellow color, white gelcoat, or a red gelcoat. Some of these blades were prone to delamination issues, in some cases we have seen perfectly good looking blades sitting in the sun on the beach end up having large deformation bubbles showing on the surface. 

The EPO 3 blade is the current "performance blade" as of writing this in 2025. It is standard equipment on the H16 Global edition and can be seen as an upgrade on many of the Waves in the Formula Wave Class. This blade has a carbon trailing edge and white gelcoat main blade. It also comes with a small black pad on the leading edge where it would contact your rudder casting.