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Thread: Emergency Rudder Ideas

  1. #21
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    I have Alan's "first?" E-rudder that I took along on the 2010 PacCup. I could part with it. Right now it's set up for a Wyliecat with an outboard 2" x 2" receiver at the bottom and a plywood brace at the top. I have Alan's original metal parts as well. Email me directly; don't use the SSS notification. broderic at sonic dot net

  2. #22
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    Egad!!! Is that the freaking enormous one that's six and a half feet long and weighs about 90 pounds? Probably not. That's probably the unit I took to Hawaii.

    That was fun to make, laminating the doorskins to make a cassette around an extremely low-tech rudder.

    Pat, do you have pictures? They might instill a dose of budget-conscious reality into this conversation. I mean, if someones goal is to win the thing, and they have $$ to burn or serious composite skills, then by all means build / buy a killer carbon composite e-rudder.

    My goals were:
    1. to finish
    2. to finish with a smile on my face (not freaking miserable)
    3. to not be last

    For that, I needed a rudder that would steer the boat and would be able to do so for several days via the autopilot. That doesn't take $3,000.
    Last edited by AlanH; 01-17-2017 at 05:05 PM.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  3. #23
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    If you don't want to spend time gluing up all that wood, and you have a 20-26 footer, you can just buy a 5-6 foot long 2 x 12. Understand that over time, it will probably warp and distort, but how long does it have to last you? Buy GOOD doug fir lumber for this.... not Home Depot, and not wet crap that's gonna check something awful. Pay for a decent slice of wood. Get out the hand power plane and start shaping. Get as close to NACA 0012 as you can in the bottom 5/8ths. Sand it smooth. Paint it a few times with epoxy. If you're really into it, cover it with a layer of carbon in epoxy. Then paint it with an epoxy colored paint. Put on some pintles with 1 1/2 inch pins. Figure out a tiller arrangement. DONE.

    If you want it to last forever, then buy a 6 foot long piece of two-inch thick HDPE. Say....6 feet long - 14 or 16 inches wide and 2 inches thick. There are a dozen places in the Bay Area with CNC routers that can turn that thing into a lovely NACA foil. If you have a buddy with a Tech Shop membership, a few of them have CNC machines that will do it. HDPE will never finish up as smooth as 'glass or even wood but it can be a good shape. HDPE is a bit flexible, I wouldn't choose it for a racing rudder but for a get-home emergency rudder that will sure as hell beat a board in the water, sure. Why not?

    Rudder Craft sells HDPE rudders. A perfectly reasonable HDPE rudder with a 14 inch chord for my 26 footer is about $600.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  4. #24
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    Jan 2014
    Location
    Arnold, CA
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    There were a couple of options at the pelican recently, hiding in the corner by the nuts and bolts. One was a homemade e-rudder, foam and carbon, rough but cheap. The other looked like a transom hung rudder from a Cat. 25.
    I may take a second look.

  5. #25
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    Sep 2007
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    Capitola,CA
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    There's a laminated marine ply and epoxy e-rudder blade on the bottom of page 2 in the For Sale Section.
    Last edited by sleddog; 01-17-2017 at 08:07 PM.

  6. #26
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    I'd like to clarify that all my yammering on about emergency rudders applies to smaller boats. If you have a 35-40 footer, then the problem is very, very different.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlanH View Post
    I'd like to clarify that all my yammering on about emergency rudders applies to smaller boats. If you have a 35-40 footer, then the problem is very, very different.
    Just because I was curious, I called up three East Bay CNC shops and asked them what it would cost to take a laminated wood plug and turn it into a rudder-shape. Upshot is, go to Phils Foils. They can't compete with these guys, who are set up specifically to generate such stuff.

    This is if you want a wood-core rudder, CNC cut to a really accurate foil.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
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    114

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    Quote Originally Posted by AlanH View Post
    I'd like to clarify that all my yammering on about emergency rudders applies to smaller boats. If you have a 35-40 footer, then the problem is very, very different.
    Bad Bunny, my Hobie 33, is 33 feet long but is very light, only 4000lbs. I'm not looking for a long term solution that will last years but I also don't want to get the San Francisco and a judge to tell me "Sorry, you can't race because of...". I'm hauling my Hobie 33 from Charlotte NC and don't want any surprises I can't overcome in a very quick period.

  9. #29
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    Santa Rosa
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    Alan, Here are two of your original photos. I've modified the mounting system for my outboard powered Wyliecat. The engine mount uses 2X2 aluminum that fits into a receiver built into the transom. I fabricated an "L" shaped 2X2 bracket that fits into the receiver at the bottom. About 3/4 of the way up, I have a plywood spacer that acts as a compression post against the bracket and the base of the rudder post fitting. I use high tech line from the top of the "L" shaped bracket to the rear mooring cleats to lock it in. That puts the cassette about 6" above the waterline. I use more high tech line from the top after end of the rudder thru turning blocks on the coaming and to tiller. It works, but the way it's rigged, turning the till to port steers you to port - you just have to remember. Worked fine when testing it in the Bay. Luckily we didn't have to test it on the way to Hawaii! I could be convince to sell it since I don't plan any more Hawaii adventures. -- Pat

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    Last edited by Wylieguy; 01-23-2017 at 05:51 PM.

  10. #30
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    Nov 2010
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    Discovery Bay, CA
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    This looks like an interesting place. Quite a way from the Bay but might be worth a look if someone happens to be in the Seattle area.
    Scroll to the bottom to see a rack full of rudders.

    http://sailboatwreckingyard.com/inventory/
    Last edited by mike cunningham; 01-23-2017 at 07:53 PM.

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