Remove rudder on mooring?

[RTSKI]

Should the rudder be removed when the boat (O'Day 19) is moored?
Presumably that may be done to stop it from swinging back and forth, which could be taken care of by tying the tiller. Any other reason?

 

[Chief RA]

Due to its size it could be stolen but it could be locked on if that is a concern. I would suggest a tie line be attached to it in case it comes loose at sea. Chief

 

[Sunbird22358]

YES, YES, and again YES!! I ALWAYS remove the rudder while moored. First, it saves wear and tear on the rudder and fittings, second... it doesn't need painting, and with the rudder stowed inside the cuddy (locked) it won't be stolen. My rudder looks a lot newer than my boat due to this care. On the larger O'DAYs with fiberglass rudder blades and an aluminum rudder top part, removing the rudder while moored will reduce corosion of the aluminum parts and some of those blades tend to crack due to the flexing while moored. I would DEFINITELY remove the rudder and stow it below in the cabin on any boat with an outboard rudder (well ,any one under 27' or so, and even then I still might at least take it off and lay it in hte cockpit to keep it clean.) Obviously, if the boat has a wheel, you may want to leave it in place... but I assume that you aren't going to have a wheel on a 19.

I have also found that my boats have always hung on hte mooring better without hte rudder as there is then less to prevent the boat from turning into the wind. On the one boat that I used to leave the rudder in place, she never really wanted to set right to the mooring and would often "sail" forward and tangle up on the mooring ball. If there are times when the wind and current are trying to push hte boat in different directions, having the rudder in place always seems to cause problems, and I have noticed many times where even at anchor... removing the rudder imediately allows the boat to ride better at anchor/mooring.

 

[RTSKI]

Thank you. I did note that tying the tiller in a neutral position helped with wear and tear.

 

[Brian S]

I rigged an uphaul line with clam cleat on the tiller for my 192. I simply drilled a hole in the trailing edge of the rudder for the 3/16" polyester utility cord. Now, whenever I am not sailing, I lift the rudder blade, so that water doesn't slap around and wiggle the rudder, thus wearing my lower transom gudgeon. I have a fair amount of play, and I fear I will have to replace the gudgeon before too long. I am not looking forward to that job, though cutting an access plate into the transom would help. Hmmm, can I get a kid to go into the lazarette so as not to have to cut a hole in the transom?

When I'm sitting at anchor, or overnight in the marina when I don't have the tiller cover on, I use my Wavefront Marine Tiller Clutch to hold the tiller. When the tiller cover is on, I use the clam cleats for the tiller clutch, but cow hitch a utility cord to the covered tiller.

On my 192, lifting the blade doesn't help much with growth at the head of the rudder blade, because I don't put bottom paint on that, as it would scrape off inside the headstock anyway. But it does eliminate rudder movement from wave action.

 

[mm2347]

Brian: You should check out "The Tiller Clutch" Love mine. Its simple, small and out of the way, nicely made. Just click the small lever on or off w/ your little finger.

 

[Brian S]

mm- I do have the Wave Front Marine Tiller Clutch on both the 192 and my smaller Harpoon 4.6. I love them. They will be standard equipment on any tiller boat I get (that does not have an auto pilot. And probably even if there is an auto pilot...)

The Harpoon came with a Davis Tiller Tamer. I HATE IT. It relies on a screw knob to adjust friction on the control line. It is far too fiddly, and is either too loose when I need the tiller to stay in position, or too tight when I need fast response, say, tacking. It takes far too long to reach under and twist for correct adjustment.

No, the guys at Wave Front Marine have got it right, and make an exceptional, well made product. I highly recommend it for all tiller-based sailors :dance: http://www.wavefrontmarine.com

Note that neither the Tiller Clutch nor Tiller Tamer, or similar systems, don't work when you've got a typical "tiller condom" type tiller cover. I considered modifying the tiller cover to allow the control lines to be used, but decided not to bother, as a length of 3/16" polyester line cow hitched over the tiller cover and led to the control line clam cleats works just fine.

Brian: You should check out "The Tiller Clutch" Love mine. Its simple, small and out of the way, nicely made. Just click the small lever on or off w/ your little finger.