1984 oday 25 rudder length

mastup

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May 2, 2018
4
oday oday 25 st joseph island hilton beach
hello, new to the forum wondering if anybody has modified the 25 rudder to the oday 26 specs to take care of the rudder longer than keel trunk problem seems they knew there was a problem and fixed it with the 26. not interested in a kick up because of the price just seeing if anyone has addressed this. thanks
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
I would call Rudy at D&R first before just cutting the rudder shorter. I would think a reduction in length might mean a increase in width to keep the same forces.

For the record, I soft ground in muddy lake bed last year and the rudder actually lifted off the gudgeon.
 

mastup

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May 2, 2018
4
oday oday 25 st joseph island hilton beach
thanks john your right about the width the 26 was shorter and wider on the trailing edge other then that I do not see any difference just wondering about the balance and how the 26 sailed hard to find info thanks again
 

JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
So I considered upgrading to a 26 but found out it was not really an improvement over a 25. The sail area was not significantly increased and the weight jumped 800 lbs. Also it still doesn't get stand up head room either.
 

mastup

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May 2, 2018
4
oday oday 25 st joseph island hilton beach
yes I pondered the 26 too for the headroom instead bought the 25 then found the rudder length problem and started looking at the 26 rudder specs and thought that might be the answer still thinking about it thanks john
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
then found the rudder length problem
I had an O'day 25 for 5 years and never had a problem with the rudder/keel depth difference.
I suppose it matters what type bottom there is where you sail. In soft sand or mud, I don't think it is an issue.
 
Jun 2, 2004
1,923
Oday Day Sailer Wareham, MA
You could cut enough off the bottom of the rudder to make it no deeper than the keel, then glass an end-plate to it (think wing-keel) to regain the "bite" on the water. Phil Bolger used that idea on many of his ultra shoal-draft designs and it is supposed to work very well. It may even work better than the original rudder design. I would not go wit ha kick-up rudder, seems pointless to switch to a more moving parts, complicated design just to overcome the 3-6" extra depth of the rudder compared to the keel. On a true centerboard boat (instead of a K/CB) I see the value of the kick-up rudder, since the CB retracts completely into the hull and having the rudder sticking down 24" +/- below the boat defeats the draft advantage of the CB. On an O'DAY 20 or 22 (1979-83 K/CB) I DO see the advantage of a kick-up rudder and can't understand why O'DAY never made that feature standard (and never even an option on the 22, only the 20). The 22 with the K/CB draws about 14" CB up, yet the rudder sticks down like 18-24". But for the 23 or 25, not worth it just to "fix" the rudder being 6" deeper than the keel. I'd also try sailing (or motoring) with the CB lowered about 8" so that hits before the rudder giving you a chance to turn towards deeper water before the rudder hits. O'DAY made provision for inserting a pin in the upper pintle to prevent the rudder from lifting (or floating) off while underway, using a pin like that should help prevent loss of steering if you did touch bottom.
I've attached a couple of pics of the rudder on a couple of Bolger-designed catboats to show the end-plate.
 

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mastup

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May 2, 2018
4
oday oday 25 st joseph island hilton beach
oh yes Iv seen the wings in my research very smart person just wondering if anybody tried the 26 rudder on a 25 would to me problem solved how it sails is what i would like to know
 

ebsail

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Nov 28, 2010
241
O day 25 Nyack. New York
Rudders (even from D and R ) are exensive. A very streamlined and kick up rudder is available for the 25, if you're willing to part with $1000+