H37C Rudder.

[Ed Schenck]

After getting Ladylove out of the mud from her Hanna storm anchorage I motored across the Neuse river to the Sailcraft boatyard in Oriental. I wanted to haul her out to see how the bottom looked after her first year out of the Great Lakes. What I discovered was unexpected, a bent rudder stock! And a compound bend, both to the right and back. It is subtle, I discovered it while trying to sand those glassed holes from the "flaps" that I finally removed after ten years. I wondered why it was so much easier to sand one side than the other. Duh!

When I left for home the rudder was completely free and sitting on blocks. All the yard had to do was lift the boat and the rudder would fall out. A lot different from the stories I hear of salt water boats where the radial wheel and bearing collar are all corroded on the shaft. Mine came apart easily. I love big boat yards that can do anything. So many interesting projects going on. Now they have another, repairing Ladylove's rudder. Probably by opening it up and replacing the stock and then reskinning. I saw some rudders that they had done, better than new.

Before I put the rudder back in I will beef up the hull and replace the stuffing box hose. I will also reinforce the shelf that the bearing collar rides on. But it must be pretty sturdy if you can bend that heavy stainless post and not break anything on the boat. I wonder if this will get rid of my weatherhelm?

 

[rardiH36]

Those "Flaps" -- Maybe on Reason for Heavy Prop Walk in Reverse?

Dear Ed:

Thanks for sharing with us your haul-out and for including the picture attachment. Sorry to hear of the rudder problem, but you seem pleased that a good fix is in the offing.

The area of your C37 looks really similar to to the same spot on my 1980 C36.

Please let me know of any perceived performance change when you get "flapless" Ladylove back in the water.

You probably remember my posts a month or two ago about the extreme prop walk of my C36 in reverse. A few responses indicated that our Cherubini's are noted for this (but that with practice I could overcome ...). But since then, I also can't shake the feeling that the now flared-out flaps might be severely might be intensifying the prop-walk by affecting the flow of water past the prop in reverse.

So I've been regretting not removing the flaps when I was working on my boat on the hard last summer. I expect that originally they were a pliable plastic, attached in a manner caused them to conform flat up against the rudder. But after 28 years, they now are rigid and have adopted a very flared-out shape probably about 30% off the rudder. Were yours like this as well? Removing them is definitely on my list for the next haul-out.

You are changing props as well, so that will be another factor affecting prop walk when you return to the water. Nonetheless let me know about backing up improvements or not.

For others that might be still reading this, the "flaps" on the Cherubini 36 are pieces of about 1/8" plastic sheets, screwed on their forward edge into the aft-most part of the hull which then extend aft past the rudder post. (See Ed's picture for where the screw holes were.) Presumably they were designed to lay up flat against the rudder and that they would function to reduce turbulence at the hull to rudder post transition. While roaming through a few boat yards over the past year, I do not think that I have seen rudder flaps like these on any other cruising sailboat besides mine. Anybody else have them?

regards,
rardi

 

[Paul Akers]

You "Bends" may be...

...from the most recent brushes with the bottom during Hannah, not from previous groundings the you may have had. Can you determine that?

 

[Ed Schenck]

Rudder post "bends".

Possibly Paul, or maybe one of the bends, but not too likely. It was very shallow where Ladylove was anchored. But the bottom is very soft and very deep. I actually had trouble getting out of there after getting the second anchor up.

I think the sideways bend has been there for a time. I have always had a weatherhelm that I could quite get rid of. Not with mast tuning and not with sail trimming. Not sure where that bend came from since in nine years on Erie I never touched bottom.

At least one of the bends probably occurred last October when we grounded on the correct side of a marker. It took a crab boat thirty minutes to get us off. The depth under the bow was six feet and the boat draws less than four and a half. Thankfully the crabman was persistent. And he would not take a dime. Said to say a prayer for the fishermen.

 

[sandpiper10471]

More Flaps

Actually, Tartan 37's have a similar flap.