Rudder modifications

For MacGregor/Venture owners in Australia and discussions about country-specific sailing-related topics.
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Jacana1
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:31 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26S
Location: Central Coast NSW

Rudder modifications

Post by Jacana1 »

Hello captains,

I have a 92 26s ex racer. I have the original macgreggor rudder and another rudder the PO made.

The tiller is heavy as the rudder is too far behind the pintel/pivot point.

I plan to balance the PO's swing rudder to 18 % forward of the pivot/pintel point making steering lighter on the tiller.

Have any of you successfully manufactured or modified a balanced rudder?

Thanks for reading
OverEasy
Admiral
Posts: 2011
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:16 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: NH & SC

Re: Rudder modifications

Post by OverEasy »

Hi Jancana1

How did your rudder balance project go?

I played around with balancing a rudder for a much smaller sailboat several years ago.
the way I approached it as to add a temporary section of 10 gage aluminum sheet to the leading edge buy about 25% and then progressively trimming it back by 5% increments until it felt right.

Then made a new rudder based upon what was learned.
The cord (fore-to-aft length) may have been a bit longer than it needed to be but it is balanced with the right amount of feedback without undo effort, a significant improvement.

Best Regards,
Over Easy 8) 8)
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