Rudders!!
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Have you looked into these?
http://www.idasailor.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=403
I think someone on here has one. I haven't heard anything bad about them.
http://www.idasailor.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=41&products_id=403
I think someone on here has one. I haven't heard anything bad about them.
Answers. 
Hello Mike
A) All were stock Hunter rudders. Are the rudders made by some other company?
B) All failed just below the head. Same place every time.
C) No damage to the rudders beforehand.
D) Almost always sailing in semi open water with about 1-2 seas on 3-4 swells.
E) Balanced the sails and sailed home. (Reefed main)
Hello Mike
A) All were stock Hunter rudders. Are the rudders made by some other company?
B) All failed just below the head. Same place every time.
C) No damage to the rudders beforehand.
D) Almost always sailing in semi open water with about 1-2 seas on 3-4 swells.
E) Balanced the sails and sailed home. (Reefed main)
Sorry Mark!
Mark, sorry to hear about your misfortune!
Do you store your boat in a wet slip or on the trailor?
If in a slip, do you keep the rudder up or down? Is there lateral wave action in the slip?
BrianW
P.S. Very admirable ..... sailing her in without a rudder!
:theman:
Mark, sorry to hear about your misfortune!
Do you store your boat in a wet slip or on the trailor?
If in a slip, do you keep the rudder up or down? Is there lateral wave action in the slip?
BrianW
P.S. Very admirable ..... sailing her in without a rudder!
:theman:
Not sure if I have much to add but I recently bought a Macgregor 25 and being unsure about the sturdiness of the rudder i got out the ole fiberglass cloth and resin. Put 2 sheets all the way around and reinforced the hinge hole with stainless sheet and it came out great.
The link that Sublime posted above is for an alternate mfg call Idasailor/Rudder Craft. Although there is a significantly lower failure rate, I've still read a few reports of failure that were quickly replaced at no expense.
I've tried to sail this boat with the rudder up just to see if I could and I'm with Brian.....you have my respect. Next time I get out i'm going to give it another go.
Mike
I've tried to sail this boat with the rudder up just to see if I could and I'm with Brian.....you have my respect. Next time I get out i'm going to give it another go.
Mike
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Have there been any reports of this problem on the Hunter 26?
I know that the 260 has a slightly different design, and a lot of them have wheel steering, but a "heads up" would be appreciated.
I know that the 260 has a slightly different design, and a lot of them have wheel steering, but a "heads up" would be appreciated.
Initially, there were white delrin shims installed in the rudder housing to help prevent chafe when lowereing and raising the rudder. These were large washers.
In addition, they help to keep the rudder head from sideway movement as long as the remtaining bolt in the housing is tight or snug.. If the rudder is not snug in the housing but left to bang back and forth, then this will cause the rudder to break at the head of the rudder.
Make sure you tighten up rudder in the rudder housing and if there are no white delrin shims, order them from Hunter.
Sometimes people have left the rudder down with the boat coming off the trailer or backing the boat up in the water hitting an underwater obstruction can cause damage to the rudder. Yep, I was guilty of that once leaving the rudder down coming off the trailer and had to replace it.
Crazy Dave
In addition, they help to keep the rudder head from sideway movement as long as the remtaining bolt in the housing is tight or snug.. If the rudder is not snug in the housing but left to bang back and forth, then this will cause the rudder to break at the head of the rudder.
Make sure you tighten up rudder in the rudder housing and if there are no white delrin shims, order them from Hunter.
Sometimes people have left the rudder down with the boat coming off the trailer or backing the boat up in the water hitting an underwater obstruction can cause damage to the rudder. Yep, I was guilty of that once leaving the rudder down coming off the trailer and had to replace it.
Crazy Dave
I haven't heard of, or actually experienced any similar problems with H-26's. Maybe Crazy Dave or Mike (Soling42) will chime in. I have, however, experienced aluminum rudder head corrosion on my H-26. This resulted in the lower portion of the aluminum plates corroding and breaking loose; leaving me without a working rudder. I was not able to sail back (good on ya Mark) and was BARELY able to motor in. I controlled excessive corrosion problems with zinc's screwed onto the lower plates of the rudder head. I also used nylon washers as isolators between the bolt head and nut S.S. washers, and also painted the bolts with zinc chromate primer. BrianW
Can't speak for previous versions but my '04 260 came with 2, 10" rubber spacers/washers and it's been screwed down tight for it's entire lifetime. We've put it through the paces and it's lasted 7yrs. Our sailing is about 80/20 inshore vs offshore but I carry a crude spare to save the weekend when/if it does.
In defense of the boat I guess I'd consider "1-2 seas on 3-4 swells" a great "day" but pretty tough on a regular basis for this trailer boat. A tougher rudder obviously seems to be in order for that, at least based on your abnormal failure rate.
Foss Foam stock rudder link. http://newrudders.com/?page_id=6
Rudder Craft link http://www.idasailor.com/catalog/default.php
Bullet proof rudder pic
In defense of the boat I guess I'd consider "1-2 seas on 3-4 swells" a great "day" but pretty tough on a regular basis for this trailer boat. A tougher rudder obviously seems to be in order for that, at least based on your abnormal failure rate.
Foss Foam stock rudder link. http://newrudders.com/?page_id=6
Rudder Craft link http://www.idasailor.com/catalog/default.php
Bullet proof rudder pic
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My buddy has a Hunter 23 or 24, fairly new. I had the helm in a race. I could not believe the force on the tiller in a following sea. I had my arm wrapped around the tiller on a run and expected the rudder or tiller to break. I think his has a glass rudder, it didn't break, we took third place and I got a heck of a workout!
I don't know if the heavy weather helm is due to rudder desigh or hull design but she doesn't like a following sea
Happy Sailing,
Vic H.
Vic -
I've noticed my H26 will have a lot of pressure on the tiller if the rudder isn't all the way down.
I've noticed my H26 will have a lot of pressure on the tiller if the rudder isn't all the way down.
When the tiller turns into a "test your strength" device it has invariably been kicked back. The 26 actually has a small portion of the rudder ahead of the pivot axis (I think the proper term is "balanced rudder") and that seems to take a lot of the strain off the tiller. Since our home waters are on the last dammed section of the Mississippi River, there are times when the rudder trips on the bottom.
I agree. Even on my little H15, if the tiller is fighting me it is always because the rudder is not lowered all the way. Once I get it back to where it should be I have no problems.
I have an S2 with a kick up rudder. 20 years ago when the boat was only 8 years old the old fiberglass/foam rudder split. I went to Dallas hardwood and bought a solid chunck of Honduran Mahogany 4"x18"x60". I took the old rudder and used it as the template to shape a new rudder exactly like the old. I took time but it was worth it. It is still as strong as when it was new. Fiberglass/Foam rudders twist and bend much more than you would think. The solid mahogany is stiff and is actually like power steering, 5 times better than the original. Think about it, it worked great for me and a piece of mahogany would cost you about $100 or less today.
And even more importantly I now want to sail in jacks "Possum Kingdom Lake". I always thought all the lakes in Texas were named after senators and oil men. I think if I lived anywhere near there I'd just put PKL on the stern as my port of call to mess with people.
. I always thought all the lakes in Texas were named after senators and oil men. I think if I lived anywhere near there I'd just put PKL on the stern as my port of call to mess with people.
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Rudder solution
We heard about rudder problems. Decided it could be a real safety issue. Considered carrying spare. Thought about losing rudder in seaway, bad. Thought realistically about replacing rudder in a seaway, bad. Thought about strengthening rudder. Narrow head with notch presents problems. Was not pleased with the” I know its going to break sometime so just forget about it and keep an eye on it at the same time”
Decided to do the best that was possible with the inherent design and got an IDA solid. I could see that leverage could contribute considerably to breakage so went with the short one.
Only have a few years and about 400 mi on it. We try to sail with neutral helm, this automatically limits stress. No problem so far. One H260 owner did a 10,000 mi Great Loop and broke one. Don’t know if it was a long one.
The advantages,
1 forget about rudder problem for the most part
2 because it has neutral buoyancy the long standing problem of putting it down and keeping it down is totally gone, this is great.
We heard about rudder problems. Decided it could be a real safety issue. Considered carrying spare. Thought about losing rudder in seaway, bad. Thought realistically about replacing rudder in a seaway, bad. Thought about strengthening rudder. Narrow head with notch presents problems. Was not pleased with the” I know its going to break sometime so just forget about it and keep an eye on it at the same time”
Decided to do the best that was possible with the inherent design and got an IDA solid. I could see that leverage could contribute considerably to breakage so went with the short one.
Only have a few years and about 400 mi on it. We try to sail with neutral helm, this automatically limits stress. No problem so far. One H260 owner did a 10,000 mi Great Loop and broke one. Don’t know if it was a long one.
The advantages,
1 forget about rudder problem for the most part
2 because it has neutral buoyancy the long standing problem of putting it down and keeping it down is totally gone, this is great.
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