I am just about to get my '03 H260 in the water. It is a mystery to me how the rudder stays down using just the friction lock as per the owners manual. I am a strong man and using the most friction I can put on it the rudder still comes up easy. Is this someting I should worry about? Thanks for any comments recommendations. Tip in Corpus. P.S. For a lot of my sailing/motoring it will be in shallow waters. The kick up feature is a mist at times here. So tieing it down is a very poor option.
Kick up rudder
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The wing nut (very oversized) placed...
...on the wrong side of the rudder or on the wrong bolt could cause the problems you are talking about. alan
...on the wrong side of the rudder or on the wrong bolt could cause the problems you are talking about. alan
Same problem
I have a 1995 Hunter26 and have had the same problem. Even if it kicks back a little on a windy day you will notice it right away. I finally broke down and drilled a hole through the rudder so I could pin it down, I know that is not the answer you wanted to hear. What I still might do is take a look at the rubber on the insides of the rudder bracket that is suppose to hold the rudder down when the bolt it tightened. If it is smooth that is probably why the rudder kicks back up, even when the bolt is tightened. You might want to figure out some way to cause more friction between those rubber plates and your rudder. Good luck and let me know if you figure something out.
I have a 1995 Hunter26 and have had the same problem. Even if it kicks back a little on a windy day you will notice it right away. I finally broke down and drilled a hole through the rudder so I could pin it down, I know that is not the answer you wanted to hear. What I still might do is take a look at the rubber on the insides of the rudder bracket that is suppose to hold the rudder down when the bolt it tightened. If it is smooth that is probably why the rudder kicks back up, even when the bolt is tightened. You might want to figure out some way to cause more friction between those rubber plates and your rudder. Good luck and let me know if you figure something out.
rudder on my 98 260
has a downhaul line. You pull it to lower the rudder and cleat it. My 99 240 had a similar setup and I installed a releasing clam cleat on the tiller so if you hit something it will still release. Another option that the newer boats use is a shear pin through a hole in the rudder plates and the rudder itself. I think I'll go with the shear pin myself. The shear pin is a hollow plastic tube similar to a bic pen housing. You could also use a wooden dowel for the pin.
has a downhaul line. You pull it to lower the rudder and cleat it. My 99 240 had a similar setup and I installed a releasing clam cleat on the tiller so if you hit something it will still release. Another option that the newer boats use is a shear pin through a hole in the rudder plates and the rudder itself. I think I'll go with the shear pin myself. The shear pin is a hollow plastic tube similar to a bic pen housing. You could also use a wooden dowel for the pin.
Auto release cam cleat
I also sail in quite shallow water so the ability to have the rudder kick up if I get into the shallows is important. My boat does have the hole in the rudder to use the shear pins. I have used them successfully. I got the pins directly from hunter. I have hit bottom with a pin in and it did shear. I read on this forum about using an "auto release cam cleat" on the downhaul line. I tried it and it works extremely well. Just pull the rudder down with the down haul line and put it in the cleat. When done sailing release the line from the cleat and pull it up. If you hit bottom, the cleat automatically releases and the rudder pops up. It has saved me several times. I think if I were going out for several days that I would use the shear pin. My normal sail is just a day sail and using the downhaul line and auto release cam cleat works just fine without the pin.
I also sail in quite shallow water so the ability to have the rudder kick up if I get into the shallows is important. My boat does have the hole in the rudder to use the shear pins. I have used them successfully. I got the pins directly from hunter. I have hit bottom with a pin in and it did shear. I read on this forum about using an "auto release cam cleat" on the downhaul line. I tried it and it works extremely well. Just pull the rudder down with the down haul line and put it in the cleat. When done sailing release the line from the cleat and pull it up. If you hit bottom, the cleat automatically releases and the rudder pops up. It has saved me several times. I think if I were going out for several days that I would use the shear pin. My normal sail is just a day sail and using the downhaul line and auto release cam cleat works just fine without the pin.
Quick Release Cam Cleat
Tim: Looked into this a while ago and could not figure out which quick release cam cleat to buy or how to install. They are used on racing dingys. If you have pics or can provide more description let us know. I use the plastic pin shear pin myself and it worked the only time I hit bottom hard. Somewhere I've read that Hunter does not recommend tying the rudder down because of the damage that could occur to the rudder and post. that's what the shear pin is for.
Tim: Looked into this a while ago and could not figure out which quick release cam cleat to buy or how to install. They are used on racing dingys. If you have pics or can provide more description let us know. I use the plastic pin shear pin myself and it worked the only time I hit bottom hard. Somewhere I've read that Hunter does not recommend tying the rudder down because of the damage that could occur to the rudder and post. that's what the shear pin is for.
Just added the pin
Just added the pin to my 26. Haven't ran aground sense then (fingers crossed), but it does a great job of holding the rudder down. I'd go that route.
Just added the pin to my 26. Haven't ran aground sense then (fingers crossed), but it does a great job of holding the rudder down. I'd go that route.
George
Here is a picture of the cam cleat. I had to use 1/4 inch line since that is the largest that the auto release cam cleat comes. I kept the original cleat to tie off the uphaul. The auto release cam cleat is for the downhaul. This link has a good picture of the cleat and how it works. Hope this helps.
Here is a picture of the cam cleat. I had to use 1/4 inch line since that is the largest that the auto release cam cleat comes. I kept the original cleat to tie off the uphaul. The auto release cam cleat is for the downhaul. This link has a good picture of the cleat and how it works. Hope this helps.
Tip, the 26 and 260 rudders are quite a bit...
...different, but the problems and fixes are quite similar. Proper tightening, cleaning and repairing the plastic parts (at least in the 26) are only a partial fix. Didn't have much time to expand before, but I have found the shear pin to be the easiest modification. I use an empty pen too but the hollow tube can become a pain to remove after shear, so would reccomend the solid plastic. The wood ones can swell in place and also chafe through eventually. Part on the difficulty in pushing the rudders down is that they float. This site sells solid plastic ones that don't. Others have used them with succes. Bob Fliegal uses a bugee cord which allow the rudder to kickup then pulls it back down. alan
...different, but the problems and fixes are quite similar. Proper tightening, cleaning and repairing the plastic parts (at least in the 26) are only a partial fix. Didn't have much time to expand before, but I have found the shear pin to be the easiest modification. I use an empty pen too but the hollow tube can become a pain to remove after shear, so would reccomend the solid plastic. The wood ones can swell in place and also chafe through eventually. Part on the difficulty in pushing the rudders down is that they float. This site sells solid plastic ones that don't. Others have used them with succes. Bob Fliegal uses a bugee cord which allow the rudder to kickup then pulls it back down. alan
Attention the captain of "Java"
Hello Jim Could you please give me the name and model of the spinlock you have fitted. Oh by the way Jim winter is not very far away now. Perhaps only 3-4 months left of perfect sailing weather. Perfect today but at work as usual!!
Hello Jim Could you please give me the name and model of the spinlock you have fitted. Oh by the way Jim winter is not very far away now. Perhaps only 3-4 months left of perfect sailing weather. Perfect today but at work as usual!!
Jim's solution looks like a clever use of the spinlock cleat if you know in advance you are going to hit bottom. Looks to me like the same cleat we use for jibsheets and mainsheet. Tim's solution of using the Auto Release Cleat CL257 makes a lot of sense because you can adjust the release load between 50 and 520 lbs. I've only needed it one time but the plastic pin worked as intended. That's why I keep a couple extra on hand.
I guess I'm Lucky
The reason I say that is that I don't have that problem with my '94 23.5. On the inside of the rudder mount plates (the black steel plates that squeeze against the rudder) there are sheets of a red rubber type material that press against the rudder when you tighten the big wing nut. My rudder doesn't budge when sailing. As I sit here at my computer I look at my mouse pad and think that a cheap thin mouse pad cut and glued to the inside of the black plate might provide the friction needed to keep the rudder from kicking up. I don't know if this red rubber was an add on from one of the previous two owners but it looks done well enough that it could have been OEM from Hunter. Sorry I don't have a picture. Are all the water ballast rudders like mine? Hope this helps. Jonathan Costello Heeling Powers
The reason I say that is that I don't have that problem with my '94 23.5. On the inside of the rudder mount plates (the black steel plates that squeeze against the rudder) there are sheets of a red rubber type material that press against the rudder when you tighten the big wing nut. My rudder doesn't budge when sailing. As I sit here at my computer I look at my mouse pad and think that a cheap thin mouse pad cut and glued to the inside of the black plate might provide the friction needed to keep the rudder from kicking up. I don't know if this red rubber was an add on from one of the previous two owners but it looks done well enough that it could have been OEM from Hunter. Sorry I don't have a picture. Are all the water ballast rudders like mine? Hope this helps. Jonathan Costello Heeling Powers
Rudder Stuff Again
The red rudder gaskets came with my boat also. I've always assumed they were provided by Hunter. They do help to keep the rudder from moving underway. The point of this discussion I think is what to do to prevent damage to the rudder and housing when you hit something? A couple of good solutions have been offered from the low tech plastic pin to the quick release clutch. That's why its called a "kick-up" rudder. Which ever path you take, you want something that will give when, but not before it's necessary to prevent damage to the boat.
The red rudder gaskets came with my boat also. I've always assumed they were provided by Hunter. They do help to keep the rudder from moving underway. The point of this discussion I think is what to do to prevent damage to the rudder and housing when you hit something? A couple of good solutions have been offered from the low tech plastic pin to the quick release clutch. That's why its called a "kick-up" rudder. Which ever path you take, you want something that will give when, but not before it's necessary to prevent damage to the boat.
235 rudder bungeed down
I dont tie my rudder down with line I use a bungee. This allows the rudder to kick up but returns it to the down position once I've passed over the underwater obstruction.
I dont tie my rudder down with line I use a bungee. This allows the rudder to kick up but returns it to the down position once I've passed over the underwater obstruction.
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