Monday, September 20, 2021

Rudder Remediation Revisited

The rudder repairs and upkeep are in the finishing (epoxy/primer/paint) stages: the blade fits snuggly on the pivot pin and between the cheeks of the rudder head. The varnish work on the rudder head is progressing slowly. Once the finishing work is done, I'll install cheek blocks for the up-haul and the down-haul lines.

With nothing better to do while waiting for various coatings to dry, I've begun considering making a new rudder blade. The existing one works but I am not convinced the foil is as good as it could be; and the ten pound 'sink-weight' imbedded in the blade makes set-up at the ramp tedious and awkward. 

The foil was carved/shaped by hand. While the bottom of the blade matches the foil shape in the plans, I'm sot so sure that shape is carried through the length of the blade. What I am considering is using a router with a jig (shaped to match the foil) to shape a new rudder blade. 

When I built Gardens' rudder, I didn't appreciate up-hauls and down-hauls for the rudder. However, over the few seasons I've sailed Gardens, I have recognized their value - to the point of asking, is the sink-weight really necessary? The ten pounds of lead is plenty to keep the rudder from swinging up while sailing - but is it needed when a down-haul is used? I plan to find out...



5 comments:

  1. My Navigator was fine without a weight in the rudder; just used a downhaul. BTW you can secure both your uphaul and downhaul lines to the same point on the rudder; just lead them to differently placed blocks on the rudder stock first

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    1. Thanks for the comments - and I apologize for the late response.

      Last season I used an uphaul and a (redundant) downhaul - lead to a single cleat on the top of the rudder stock (without benefit of blocks). The next rudder rendition will include blocks on the rudder stock.

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  2. Good luck with the fabrication Bob. I use up and down-haul for rudder blade. No lead. After finally getting the right pulley positions, I am quite happy with setup.
    Your posts do make me think about also getting rid of the small tolerances between my hands and the blade in the water.
    The centerboard contains a huge lead slug. It is a nuisance to lift it but overall that does not need to happen often and the extra weight helps as counterweight.

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    1. Thanks, Rik. Your posts made me realize blocks on the rudder stock will be an improvement.

      Gardens' centerboard has a large lead counterweight, too.

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  3. Good comments. Good to know the downhaul works to keep the rudder blade where it belongs.

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