H260 Rudder failure!! Updates on replacement?

[hunter260]

Came about hard in a heavy gust yesterday and heard a crack behind me. Lo and behold that crackled, chipped piece of fiberglass called my rudder was floating behind my H260! I steered my way back to the slip with the motor, not before the wind gusts had me clamering over every side as to not trash every boat in the place. A rather frightening and disapointing experince as the boat was not handling the 15knt wing very well at all to begin with.
So it has finally happend to me, and as I look up infomation, most everything is old or rather nasty toward the replacement manufacturers.
I have contacted Ida and am awaiting a response.

Has anyone got any new information on replacements or modifications?
Any input welcome.

Jeff Easterling
Hunny Bunny

 

[John23883]

Ida Sailor rudder

Jeff,
This information is for a Hunter 26 and yours will be different but,

My new Ida Sailor rudder assembly, rudder, rudder bracket and wood tiiller is on the way and should be here by Friday so we can sail on Saturday. I shattered mine by not raising it before pulling out on the ramp. An exact replacement from foss foam (www.newrudders.com) was $870 plus shipping ($75?). Given that my rudder plates looked like S-curves....
So, I decided to go with the whole assembly from www.ruddercraft.com and also opted for the 2" thick rudder (more expensive) and added the sunbrella cover for the wood tiller, which I will varnish, for a total of $1271 including shipping.
If you watch the video on youtube, it shows how easy the new rudder is to lift, and drop. I am tired of having to step down the ladder into the water to lift the old rudder!
This is not where I was planning on spending the money from a job I just did, but that's the way things go sometimes.

The guys at ruddercraft were excellent to work with.
John

 

[Kivalo]

I snapped my rudder on my 2003 260 on Lake George and had to come in to some hole in the wall marina. Had a linkage break on the engine throttle as well & very breezy which only made things worse. LOL It can be fun sometimes!

The important part is Hunter gave me a brand new rudder and I haven't had an issue since then.

Brad
s/v KIVALO

 

[hunter260]

Re: Ida Sailor rudder

Thx John
I contacted rc and their server was down so I went to their site and found just what I needed. A shorter but wider version of the original. Heading out to the pamlico in a few weeks. I'm looking at this as a blessing as I am bringing my two young sons w me and a rudder fail would be a little too much of an experince for them. Rc seems to have the science down. All forums I've found laud them. Best. Jeff

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Hunter 260;

Ok I live in Zebulon. Email to davecondon@mindspring.com and I will be one of the best sources of information for you in the future. You might know me but feel free and I will help you as I am the godfather of this boat.

crazy dave condon

Some H 260 rudders broke because they hit debri in the water.

 

[Ashley]

Glad you found what you need. You guys are scaring me with the snappy rudder talk.

As far as raising and lowering the stock rudder, mine was always a pain to get up and down with the stock setup. I replaced it with harken micro blocks inside the rudder post for a 4-1 years ago. It's much easier to get up and down now, you can pull it all the way down and cleat with one hand.

Where you headed to on the pamlico? We're thinking of driving down to Oriental area in a couple weeks to look at slips.