Rudder Modifications

[Woz]

Has anyone modified their original rudder? I was looking at making a new blade for mine so I could use the original rudder stock.

I was thinking of keeping with aluminium plate (10mm), making it slightly narrower 300mm (existing 310-350mm wide) and making it about 1 metre long (existing 600mm) and then rounding the edges.

I prefer the swing rudder setup over the drop rudder for the type of sailing that I do.

Your thoughts and comments would be appreciated.

Warwick
(WoZ) C18#226

[don47]

[don47]

You can do that if you wish Warwick with no fears or probs as there are no restrictions in the rule book on rudders.
I had a similar swing set up to what you are referring to on a mk1 (47) at one stage but the blade was made of timber & glass.
I add though that the swing box was certainly not the standard timber job, it was a beefed up alloy design.
Plenty have done all sorts to their steering gear & set up in the past.

[Woz]

Thanks Don

On our last sailing trip we had a lot of weather helm and I thought a slightly narrow but deeper rudder would improve things a bit.
The conditions were a bit ordinary on the day with 15-20 knots of wind gusting to 25.
I will probably need to increase the thickness of the rudder plate to 12 or 15mm which may require a complete new rudder stock.
Still a bit of sorting out yet.

Warwick

[Woz]

Fellow Careelers

Those that have modified their rudders or fitted a castle 650 rudder to their boats, what have you done to fit the new rudder onto the transom in regard to the old gudgeon and pins. Have you keep and reused the old ones or have you fitted new ones?

Warwick
C18#226

[byrdsworth]

Hey Woz

I built my rudder stock to suit the existing gudgens ...











I'm at Coorparoo if you want to drop by and check it out

Cheers
Byrds

[don47]

I've always so far managed to keep the existing Warwick when modifying a rudder box for either a swing or dagger blade.
Have certainly replaced screws that fasten on fittings to stern as they can corrode through just the same as sidestay U bolts.
I recommend that you also check that the fittings allow for the rudder/blade to be hanging exactly vertical as well, as I've come across a couple of discrepancies over the years. One was 8mm out which then over the length of the blade when completely down works out to be a fair distance out of plumb plus alignment to your keel/CB.

[maxm]

Hey Woz

I built my rudder stock to suit the existing gudgens ...
Cheers
Byrds

Hey Byrds, that looks like a pretty neat arrangement! How much does it weigh? My rudder is a dagger rudder and is lovely but the stock is built to withstand nuclear war and weighs a ton. I've always wanted to replace it with something lighter.

Any chance of sharing some details of the materials you used?

[byrdsworth]

Hi Max

It is pretty light ... not sure of actual weight ...

materials are

aluminium channel - 40mm x 25mm x 2mm
aluminium angle - 15mm x 15mm x 2mm

Tassie oak for uprights ... 2 pieces laminated together

found the stainless gudgens online

a good tip is ... use a long handle shovel handle for a tiller ... way cheaper and stronger than dowel

Let me know if you need more info

Cheers
Byrds

[maxm]

Thank you Mr Byrdsworth. My tiller handle is a beautiful single piece of shaped and varnished teak. I made the mistake of going to the boat show one year and walked past this stall selling teak stuff... and well...

[Drifter]

Hi all, I have the original mk1 BBQ plate rudder which is extremely heavy to put on and take off, not sure if it's due to the blade or the timber stock. Would replacing the blade with a plywood shaped blade improve the weight or should I not bother?

Cheers,
Ben
C18\137

[Edwin Flynn]

I think that shaped rudders are all heavy, I know mine is and so it lives on the pintles even when trailering. I do take the weight of the rudder when trailering by running a strap around the blade and tying it of to the push pit rails. I also use an aluminium rod that is fixed to the points that the auto-helm sits in so that the rudder does not swing.

I suppose if your rudder is made of iron perhaps you may consider replacing with a aluminium plate. But be aware that aluminium is rather brittle.

[Drifter]

Is the top attachment for your rudder attached by bolts through the transom or just heavy screws? My screws are starting to come loose and think it is due to the weight. Not sure if bolting through the transom is safer or not (my lower attachment is) Sorry have forgotten it they are pintles or gudgeons

[Edwin Flynn]

My pintels are bolted through the transom with appropriate reinforcement. I don't think using only screws would be a satisfactory to secure the rudder in place. There can be a lot of pressure in the area..