Rudder protection

[Bill Paxton]

I've got a weighted rudder on my Weekender so it stays down by itself. When I come into shore it bumps or drags along the bottom. The sand and gravel tend to wear off the paint and the epoxy on the leading edge of the rudder. I'd like to sheath that edge in something that will stand up to the abrasion. Suggestions?

Bill

[Dave R1]

Hey, Bill. How about putting a bit of fglass cloth along the edge? Or a little bit of Kevlar?

[Bill Paxton]

Fiberglass cloth won't hold up. Kevlar might.

I've got two layers of fglass cloth on the keel, and the first layer is worn through in one spot. I only beach the boat a couple of times a year, but after three seasons, the first layer of glass has worn through. It's much more likely that the rudder will bump the bottom than the keel.

I've actually been thinking of running a strip of aluminum along the bottom of the keel where it is most likely to contact the beach, and not worry about abrasion any more.

[Dave R1]

Aluminum would be good. Would you bed it in some caulk?

I had considered cutting a groove with a core box bit in the leading edge of my rudder and bedding a piece of aluminum or stainless rod in the groove.

[Bill Paxton]

On the keel I was thinking of a 2" wide strip of flat aluminum. Not sure what the thickness would be. I'd attach it to the keel with some 3M 5200 and a couple of well placed screws. My biggest concern would be water sneaking into the keel along the screw threads, but the 5200 should seal it up. (Please let me know if I'm missing something here.)

I like your idea for embedding a metal strip right into the leading edge of the rudder.

[Dave R1]

I've thought about a shoe on the keel. I believe I would over-bore the holes for the screws and fill the holes with epoxy thickened with silica. Then, I'd drill pilot holes in the epoxy for the screws or use flathead 1/4-20 machine screws.

The epoxy would provide protection from water infiltration and also make be a stronger material into which the screws can be driven. The holes could either be tapped after the epoxy has cured or the screws could sprayed with light oil and driven in while the epoxy is soft. This would allow the screws to be removed.

I'm not sure about the 5200. Would it be better to use something that can actually be removed and allow the shoe to be removed without damaging it?

Finally, I would consider using stainless for both the shoe and the screws. Or, if you can find aluminum screws, use them with an aluminum shoe to avoid the dissimilar metal issues.

I have a handful of titanium bolts in my hardware collection. Wish I could find an apllication for them.

[MikeStevenson]

Why don't you do as Peter does and make the hold-down rope long enough to reach the aft edge of the rudder? This he ties off when beaching or loading on the trailer so it doesn't drag/bounce/scrape along the rough launch ramps (and also so you can push the boat off backwards when beach launching and not have the rudder dig in.)

Mike

[Bill Paxton]

For the first two seasons I had the rudder set up exactly per the plans. Maybe I'm not a very good sailor, but I found as I was conentrating on beaching (or approaching the dock) I had one hand on the tiller, one hand on the mainsheet, and lacked a third hand for releasing the downhaul on the rudder. Turning around and leaning over the back of the boat while the dock got ever closer wasn't comfortable for me.

Now I don't worry about the rudder. When it finds the bottom it automatically adjusts itself. I still have an uphaul to raise it when putting the boat on or off the trailor. The uphaul runs thru a fair lead and along the top of my tiller and cleats just behind the grip on the tiller. Very convenient.

So far this arrangement has made sailing easier for me.

[Phil Gowans]

I started with the designed arrangement with a cleat at the top of the rudder box. As you can see I replaced that with a quick release jam cleat as used on catamaran kick up rudders. I can lock the rudder up or down. If I forget to raise it, it will do so on it's own. I haven't found that it has damaged the rudder much at all. It works fine and with no weight in the rudder it will ride out almost horizontal when not locked in vertical. I seldom lock it up, but need to lock it down. I can pretty much forget about it. It even steers reasonably well when it is up.

[ken connors]

Bill, as to drilling screws into the keel, the best tip ive heard is to drill out the spots you are placing the screws and epoxying in dowels. if the water gets in it will only rot the dowels, which are easily replaced. the epoxy should protect the keel.