MacGregorSailors.com

Mine was drilled out larger and filled with resin and predrilled to fit bolt....but I'm sure that would work as well

Stock rudders can also snap

G

Beene u might want to consider the white oak rudders they are considerably stronger and 180 a piece ....however I'm curious what kind of conditions caused these to snap.....what wave size / duration and at what angle ? If u can please describe the sailing conditions that caused them to snap

Me too. How much weather helm does your boat have?
Ix

Hi G
U really need to align those rudders tho all it requires is bending or straightening the tie rod connecting them together , I done it to mine yrs ago when I got the boat new they were way out of alignment , some guy,s have cut the tie rod in half & installed an adjuster & some have installed adjustable tie rod end ball joints

J

I sail mine a lot. And i sail in less than stellar conditions. I sail with the rudders in the horizontal position at times, with some care. Haven broken them yet.
I find the boat doesn't sail well with one rudder except in mild conditions. I have the ones I took off if someone needs a spare. But, they are painted blue. (To protect them from UV)
I also sail often with just the ruddrrs and no board. That must add more stress. Maybe you got a defective run?

Ix

In the last few weeks I have been sheathing my new rudder blanks with 10 ounce cloth and some heavier glass at the rudder heads where the pivot pins are. I am upgrading to a fully bushed half inch bolt. Found some nice bronze bushings on Ebay. The fiberglass adds quite a bit of weight. It also takes a lot of time to do both sides and the edges.
I have though of a way to fix the rudder mounting weakness once and for all. However it requires a bit of cutting and glass work. I am hoping with custom brackets I'll try to have made next year, I won't have to resort to it. I'm putting dyneema running backs aboard this year. That will allow me to carry larger headsails in windier conditions than I previously felt comfortable with. If the stock brackets are going to give me any problems it will be apparent in short order I expect.

Ix

here another idea for an emergency rudder system

https://www.steuereinheit-aussenborder.de/kaufen/

Could be heavier than the course keeper

http://www.course-keeper.com/index.htm

Highlander wrote:Hi G
U really need to align those rudders tho all it requires is bending or straightening the tie rod connecting them together , I done it to mine yrs ago when I got the boat new they were way out of alignment , some guy,s have cut the tie rod in half & installed an adjuster & some have installed adjustable tie rod end ball joints

J

How do you do this?

I'm assuming just extend them straight out aft and measure the distance from the ends of the rudders. Is there more to this?

--Russ

I looked at making a rudder after our little accident with the mailbox and decided to just buy one from BWY. I still had to drill the correct holes for the stop brackets but in the end it's probably better for us to have bought one. By the time I learn to do fiberglass work, buy all the material, make a mess of my garage screw it up a few times due to the learning curve, the $350 bucks wasn't so bad. I think next time I'll wait longer for my wife to guide me up the driveway instead of trying it blind and by myself.

RussMT wrote:

Highlander wrote:Hi G
U really need to align those rudders tho all it requires is bending or straightening the tie rod connecting them together , I done it to mine yrs ago when I got the boat new they were way out of alignment , some guy,s have cut the tie rod in half & installed an adjuster & some have installed adjustable tie rod end ball joints

J

How do you do this?

I'm assuming just extend them straight out aft and measure the distance from the ends of the rudders. Is there more to this?

--Russ

I installed rod end bearings on treaded rod in the tie rods by welding nuts inside the steering tubes (tie rods). I then made sure the rudders and engine were 90* to the transom and the steering wheel was centered. I adjusted the rod ends until they matched up, then locked them up using lock nuts on the threaded rods.

I don,t have a pic right now but I just bent the rod connecting the two rudders together so as two shorten it up as my rudders were pointing outward
hope this helps u out

J

I'm going to try to straighten mine. I don't have welding skilz so I'll do Highlanders bend method.

--Russ

I made my own rudders based on the original design. The core is marine plywood, covered with epoxy. Pivot points have plastic (delrin) bushings. We have been using these rudders for some time without issues.