Rudder downhaul line

[Jerry10776]

Being a new owner, I have a question about best type of line to use on the rudder downhaul. Sailing on the Illinois River with it's shallow mud bottom, the rudder pops up quite often. I used new (New England??) double braid Sta-Set last year and it didn't hold up very well. Any suggestions?

 

[Mike]

How about a little stretch?

What about shock cord? Something that keeps tension on the rudder in the down position, but if you hit something, it will stretch, and when the obstacle is clear, will pull the rudder back down?

 

[Wanderer138]

That's a tough call

The metal cam cleats on the top of the rudder bracket chew the line up pretty quickly. The first time I replaced mine, I used 1/2" double braid, thinking it would be stronger as well as easier on the hands. Boy, was I wrong. Once the cleats chewed through the outer braid it was all over because they couldn't grip the ineer braid.I then tried 3/8" single-braid line (3/8") and that seems to work better. You really don't need too much load on the line but it has to be tight. Shock cord or bungee won't work because they have too much "give". Good luck.PeterH23 "Raven"

 

[Jerry10776]

Peter, it sounds

like we have the same story. I used 3/8 or 5/16 double braid. When the outer braid was too damaged, I tied a knot under the damage which gave a new area to work on. This year I think I'll try to surround the double braid with leather or rubber tubing and maybe that will prevent or reduce the damage.

 

[BrianW]

Half-Inch Regatta Braid Line

I use 1/2" Regatta braid line. Regatta is softer on the hands. I then tie a small loop on the downhaul side. I pull the downhaul line to the rudder's down position. I then hook one end of a bungee cord on the downhaul line loop and the other bungee end around the stern rail about 3 times and hook it. The length of bungee between the downhaul line loop and the stern rail is only about 8 inches. It holds the rudder down but allows it to pop up if I hit something. This setup also allows for quick shallow water adjustment. Also, good red rubber gaskets on the rudder head help a lot. BrianW

 

[mike]

auto release cleat

I installed an "auto release" cleat just beneath the cam cleat. It releases under a certain amount of pressure and flips open to push the line back out of the cam cleat. By doing this the cam cleat doesn't tear the rope. The downside is that the auto release cleat only comes in a size to accomodate about a 3/8" line. This is small enough to be hard on the hands when pulling the rudder down so I tied a loop and put a section of rubber hose in the loop to give my hands a break. Works for me.I contacted the manufacturer at one point and told him if he'd make his auto release cleat for a 1/2" line he could make a killing with H23 owners!

 

[Jerry10776]

Mike

thanks for the input. Looked through some catalogs and couldn't find auto release clets. Where did you get yours?Jerry

 

[mike]

here's a link

I've had it so long I don't remember where I bought it. But I easily found it online. Here's a link.http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/cleats/sd002570/index.htm

 

[GLB]

Locking pin?

I had trouble getting the rudder to stay down with the line alone and was thinking about putting in a locking pin. When the boat starts to move quickly the rudder starts to come up and too much stress is put on the rudder. Anyone else have this experience? I'm not sure I want to rely on a cleat to hold the rudder down; once it pops up it's not fun to get back down underway.Geoff

 

[George]

Camcleat

I use the Camcleat on my H260 and found that it works well. Suggest you also look at this link for more info on how I and others have adapted it to our boat.http://kobernus.com/hunter260/rudder/rudder.html

 

[Jerry10776]

Thanks for

the help. I ordered a Clamcleat from Duckworks yesterday. I'll install it asap and see how it works this spring. COME ON SPRING!!!