When I purchased the 23.5, my hope was that I would be able to explore some of the really shallow water in my area (2 to 3 ft). What I found was that, even though the centerboard can be pulled up to 18 inches, the real impediment to sailing in water this shallow (even running) is that the forces on the tiller go way up when the rudder isn’t completely deployed. It seems to me that the problem lies in the fact that the axis of rotation for the rudder doesn’t change with the rudder. This creates a huge ruder imbalance that translates to increase tiller forces. I have some ideas to fix this but I figure that someone else must have already solved this… Any thoughts?
A Better Kick Up Rudder
- Thread starter PropellerHead
- Start date
I have the same issue on my H26. Our dock is in about 3ft of water so I need to bring up the centerboard and the rudder each time I come back to the dock.
Is there such a thing as a kick up rudder that pulls straight up instead of swinging back?
Is there such a thing as a kick up rudder that pulls straight up instead of swinging back?
I think the hunter 216 has such a contraption but it always seemed to me that such an arrangement would be more prone to damage if it actually touched the bottom.
Had the same problem on the Mac26S. I don't know if there's a solution that won't cause other problems I just took it easy with the wierd rudder angle.
The Beneteau First 260 has a lifting keel and also lifting rudders. Each rudder is mounted in an aluminum cassette than has four positions, from all the way down to up to the waterline. Because the tiller is not attached to the rudders, only the cassettes, it does not change position if you raise the rudders.
Nice. And with two rudders, they can both be shorter than a single rudder for the same effect. Seems like you still have the problem with potential damage to the rudders if they touch down though.
Because there are two of them, even all the way down they draw less than the keel does when retracted.
OK. That's a pretty nifty solution. However, the min draft on the 260 is almost 3ft. I wonder how effective those twin rudders would be when set at two feet. Then again, I all that matters is that they will probably be more effective than a single rudder at the same depth.. I guess that seems like the way to go. I wonder how hard that would be to implement on a the 23.5...
The first 235 has a single rudder in the same cassette. Obviously it looses the advantage of twice the rudder surface per depth. The First 260 draw 6 feet with the keel down but only 2.80 with it up. Even all the way down the rudders are shorter than that but get tremendous bite, even when one is levered out of the water.
The 260 ruddy assy is about as complex (and costly) as a swiss watch... although a guy might be able to craft it up cheaper.
The 260 ruddy assy is about as complex (and costly) as a swiss watch... although a guy might be able to craft it up cheaper.
The Seaward 26RK has a lifting rudder with 5 lock positions. I've thought it is an interesting design.
I've had my eye on the Rudder Craft, Kick-Up rudder, which is real nice. I wonder if they could provide a similar aftermarket design similar to the Seaward 26RK.
I've had my eye on the Rudder Craft, Kick-Up rudder, which is real nice. I wonder if they could provide a similar aftermarket design similar to the Seaward 26RK.
For a single rudder I would stick with the kick up style. Seems to me that it would be less prone to damage. The dual rudder mitigates this by being shorter.
The H260 could be moded to the seaward type rudder if somebody fabricated a rudder bracket.
The rudder as it stands only really has full down or fully retracted for trailering .
The rudder as it stands only really has full down or fully retracted for trailering .