Got a new rudder… lost

[Chumpy36]

So the rudder that came with my boat is pretty bad. So I bought. New one from the bwy folks. Just now getting around to mounting. The new rudder looks
To have one mark to drill but none of the others that are on the old rudder. What’s the best way to transfer over the hole pattern to new rudder? Any special drill bit or technique needed?

I want a down and up haul as well as regular mounting.

Any help appreciated.

[MissionMac]

I'd suggest reaching out to the folks at BWY,

I spoke to them about questions I had regarding their products and they walked me through a lot, and new a ton about our boats.

It's sometimes hard to get ahold of them, but I called midweek during the day.

[Stickinthemud57]

Congratulations on the purchase. I found that going to the airfoil rudder decreased turbulence (especially when reaching) and almost completely eliminates rudder stall at slower speeds.

I vaguely remember having the same experience with my rudder as you are having. I recall the explanation for the lack of ready-to-install holes was that because people do so many modifications to their boats that oftentimes pre-drilled holes did not match well with the end user's rig.

The small pre-drilled hole is there to show you where the ideal pivot point is. Start with a drill bit approximately the same size as the existing hole and drill about halfway through the rudder, being careful to make sure you are drilling as a 90-degree angle. Do the same from the other side. This will help assure that the holes have nice clean edges and run at a true 90-degree angle through the rudder. Drill slowly. Move up the the next size bit and repeat. Keep doing this until you have a hole that will accept your rudder bolt, keeping as snug a fit as you can while still allowing for rotation.

The position of the hold-down cable hole and raising rope are not critical. Close to what is on your old rudder will do. You can transfer the holes by laying the old rudder on top of the new one, lining up the pivot holes and sticking a pencil down the other holes and wiggling it about. This will get you in the ball park. As I recall, I was advised to leave about an inch of material undisturbed at the forward and trailing edges, so take the diameter of the final drilled hole into account as you make your final mark. Again, drill from the outside to the middle, going up one size until you reach the desired size.