Rudder

[Josh Lincoln]

I have a daysailer II, I also have a Javelin (early 80's I believe).They both need rudders. I found some cracks in the fiberglass of the upper part of the daysailer rudder and I just don't trust it anymore.I can't really see that putting fiberglass on it is going to do the trick either.Maybe I'm wrong. I could try to take pictures of the cracks if anyone is interested. It appears to be where the thin outer pieces start, on both sides of the upper piece of the rudder. How important do you think it would be to keep it a swing rudder? It seems like it would be a lot easier to make a one piece rudder out of marine plywood. However, it seems like it would be a lot more useful to have it swing. Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks, Joshlincoln@madriver.com

 

[Jim]

Swinging

Seems to me that the importance of the swinging rudder is directly proportional to the number of times you ground the rudder. If you sail in deep water and end the day at a dock where you can remove the rudder before pulling the boat (assuming you do), then it probably doesn't matter. If you sail shallow bays like we have in Florida, or like to beach the boat, you probably will wish it would swing shortly after installing a fixed rudder.