Broken Rudder

[a281668]

Just bought a 1994 26S and it came without a rudder. We did get one sent to us but are not sure if there is more to it than the stainless steel mount that is attached to the hull and tiller. When it was installed for us it was with a single bolt through the stainless steel mount. The rudder broke today while sailing. Just wondering if someone could give us some advice on how it should be mounted when we get a replacement as there was obviously too much stress for the hollow fiberglass rudder. It broke about 6 inches below the mount.

Pictures would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

Doug

 

[Sumner]

Just bought a 1994 26S and it came without a rudder. We did get one sent to us but are not sure if there is more to it than the stainless steel mount that is attached to the hull and tiller. When it was installed for us it was with a single bolt through the stainless steel mount. The rudder broke today while sailing. Just wondering if someone could give us some advice on how it should be mounted when we get a replacement as there was obviously too much stress for the hollow fiberglass rudder. It broke about 6 inches below the mount.

Pictures would be helpful.

Thanks in advance

Doug

When it broke was it pulled down so that it was vertical in the water or up and horizontal to the water?

Sumner

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[Doc_holiday]

They do mount with a single bolt. When sailing you should have the rudder all the way down. In fact if you get in the water and look it is actually beyond vertical and actually a little forward. This can be held down in one of two ways.

1: by the use of a shear bolt that goes through the second hole. This is often a nylon bolt that will hold it down in normal conditions but will snap and break if your tiller hits something.

2: a haul down. This is a line (wire or rope) attached to the leading edge below the mount that runs up through the pipe and is pulled tight to a release can on the tiller. Hard to describe maybe.

You can purchase a new rudder at ruddercraft for the 26S.

Enjoy your boat!

 

[a281668]

Yes the rudder was down all the way with the haul down.

 

[Sumner]

............We did get one sent to us .....Doug

Where did the rudder come from? Was it an aftermarket one or the stock one. I have the ruddercraft (Idasailor) one and have never seen a stock one.

Was the bolt tightened to the point that the rudder could still be pulled up and down but was snug?

Can you post some pictures of it?

Sumner

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[a281668]

The boat dealer ordered a new one from MacGregor so I think it is a stock. The bolt was just snug enough to let the rudder pivot.

When it came there was no pivot hole drilled, I thought perhaps it was drilled in the wrong spot but it broke well below the pivot point. I will post some pictures later.

 

[willsnow]

I'm with Sumner - My boat came with HDPE IdaSailor rudder so I've never seen the stock fiberglass one. It seems like, from the way it broke and the crack being perpendicular to the rudder, that it wasn't all the way down, but might be a warranty issue? It shouldn't break like that is normal conditions. Were you sailing in normal conditions?
Though, mine is a D model and our rudder is entirely different. I'm sure an S owner has more insight

 

[Sumner]

So was the break just below what I call the rudder's cheek plates that capture it (to me it looks like it)?

In heavy conditions or with unbalanced sails and such there is tremendous pressures on the rudder itself trying to twist it if it needs to work hard on keeping the boat on course.

If I was motoring in heavy stuff I'd turn the outboard slightly in one direction or the other until the rudder was in a neutral (centered) position. Under sail I'd try and balance the main and the Genoa to achieve the same by either reefing the main or not putting the Genoa all the way out depending on what was going on.

More than once on my trip I told myself I'd never get that far from home again without a spare rudder on board and even though in my case the cheek plates broke off the post at the end of the trip and the rudder was fine I still wouldn't go back over there without a spare rudder. I wouldn't consider this a necessity sailing in the States or coastal but get 500-600 miles away from the states with no easy way to get a rudder to you and the game changes.

If that was ordered brand new and only used a couple times I'd also be back to the dealer and/or who he ordered it from. The best of luck with it and if I was ordering one from scratch I'd go with the solid one from Ruddercraft (Idasailor). Seeing how much abuse mine has taken has made me a believer and it also has the extended leading edge on it for better performance,

Sumner

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[justsomeguy]

I wonder why that brand-new broken rudder has stains like that?

Was it partially submerged while not in use when it was on the boat, i.e. not all the way up or down?

 

[sunman]

Yeah this rudder appears to have been struck/hit while it was floating/resting on the surface of the water resulting in a stress fracture, it had some degree of side force applied to it in any event
make your next rudder outta wood, glass it over, U might bend break somnething else, but it wount be the rudder

 

[Doc_holiday]

I was also going to mention the staining. No indication it was ever vertical. Looks like it was swept back for quite some time. I personally raise mine out of the water when I am in the slip and haunt it down.

Now it is possible it was in the wrong hole and that would have been as far as it could have been hauled down.

 

[a281668]

Thanks for the input. The rudder broke under some fairly heavy wind conditions and the staining is because the pivot hole only allowed it to be raised partly out of the water.

Because there was no rudder on the boat when purchased the holes you can see in the photo were the only ones in the rudder when we received it and perhaps the pivot hole was drilled in the wrong place. We could not find any instructions or pictures of where the hole was to be so we went on the information we had at the time for hole location.

Thanks again, will look at the Ruddercraft for a replacement.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

that looks similar to where my idasailor rudder broke.

 

[Doc_holiday]

I am no forensic expert, but based on the crime scene it appears to me like someone used a butter knife to cut that one.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

LOL, mine snapped in 10knts and a light chop... very unexpected. (but previous use was in some heavy conditions)

I can tell you these boats don't tow well at all without a rudder. I always carried my spare (stock) rudder. and installed it once towed to shallow protected water

 

[sunman]

now I know Im glad I built my own Rudder

 

[Sumner]

As far as I can remember IdaSailor (now ruddercraft) did replace the broken rudders at the time and they also changed the design some and I don't think any have broken since and that was some years ago. If I buy a backup it will be one of theirs. They are a higher performance rudder than the stock one and probably a better foil shape than I could hope to produce. They have a good product and seem to stand behind it.

http://www.ruddercraft.com/catalog/index.php

I have more history on the IdaSailor rudders and their evolution here...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/our-mac-pics-3.html

Sumner

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[Chris & Lenore]

I had an early Ida rudder snap off at the head. The problem was an early design where they plastic welded the cheek blocks all the way around.
Subsequent rudders only welded them along the sides and top, which eliminated the breakage issue. Joel at Ida replaced the rudder no problem - great company to deal with.

Here is a tip for any rudder. Turn the rudder upside down in the stock and drill a hole for the pivot bolt. In an emergency, you can simply turn the blade upside down and it'll work fine to get you home. If you have ever tried to motor a 26 S or D with no rudder you will greatly appreciate this.

The Ida rudders are excellent but be aware they might not provide improved performance. Many of the later S and D models had the same section and platform ( except the Ida was squared off at the bottom) My original rudder performed identically to the Ida. I ended up keeping the Ida and selling the original rudder. It looked better and has a warranty nobody can beat.

Chris