Rudder damage 26x

[Dutch01527]

I picked up my 2000 from a engine service earlier today and towed it away for a weekend sail. About 20 miles down the road I discovered that one rudder had slipped down and had been dragging on the road. Friction had worn about 6 inches off the rudder. It was defiantly fixed well to the cleat when I took it in and I guess that the engine shop had dropped the rudders during the service and not cleated one off properly. Difficult to prove though. I feel dumb for not checking.

Anyone have any ideas about a solution to restore the rudder? I am based in the UK and can not find a replacement over here online.

My thoughts are 1) get one shipped from the USA which will cost a lot 2) get a stainless steel end cap made for both rudders, longer for the worn one which will cost a lot.

[sailboatmike]

Option "C" make some new rudders using the one original as a template.

Just make sure you use a good hardwood core of 20mm or so and and then build up to thickness with ply dont try and build one from just laminating layers of marine ply together.

Building new rudders for my X is a winter project for me, I have the original 1995 rudders which it could be said leave some to be desired.

My friend and fellow Mac owner has sent me down a outline template for the M rudders as a starting point, I was thinking about 100mm depper and maybe 50mm wider, of course that means I will have replace the original cast alloy rudder brackets in the process

[Herschel]

I had to repair a similar problem with one of my rudders, which was about three inches scraped off the bottom (I caught my dragging rudder sooner ) plus another hole punched out by my prop when I was backing off a grounding with one rudder in a horizontal position (it was a complicated day ). Anyway, I repaired both problems with a combination of fiberglass cloth and resin and then shaping the rudder by sanding it down to the right shape. Had no problems since.

[jrcanoe]

You could build a new one or repair the one you have but I would just bite the bullet and get one sent to your door for 450$ American from Ruddercraft.

[Chinook]

The 26X rudders have holes in the brackets and rudders, which are designed to have bolts placed in them when the boat is being trailered. These bolts prevent the rudders from falling when the boat is being towed. It would be a good idea to locate those holes and pick up a pair of stainless bolts and nylon bushing lock nuts, to prevent this problem from happening again.

[Tomfoolery]

The 26X rudders have holes in the brackets and rudders, which are designed to have bolts placed in them when the boat is being trailered. These bolts prevent the rudders from falling when the boat is being towed. It would be a good idea to locate those holes and pick up a pair of stainless bolts and nylon bushing lock nuts, to prevent this problem from happening again.

I use one of my two stern dock lines, in a soft loop from one stern cleat, around the rudders, then terminated on the other stern cleat. That's in addition to the usual rudder hoist lines, cleated on their own little rudder cleats.

My rudders are the longer, later model type, which don't have holes for bolts, though I could drill them I suppose. But the dock line loop makes a nice backup for the rudder hoist lines and cleats.

The other stern dock line, by the way, is used to stabilize the mast at the crutch, so it doesn't wobble and load the helm while trailering. One winch, through the genoa block, a couple of turns around the mast at the crutch, through the other genoa block, then tied off at the other winch, with some preload (push the mast sideways, toward the first end tied off, then take the slack out) so the mast is nice and snug when bouncing down the road.

Using the dock lines also means they're right where I need them when I launch.

[Jimmyt]

free upload

Similar to Tom's approach, I use a safety line.

[Dutch01527]

Thanks. I have not noticed the holes for a security bolt but will look tomorrow. If I do not have them I will add a safety line as suggested.

Learning curve.

[DaveC426913]

My rudders have a hole at the tip. A simple bungie or thin line through them and tied off to the stern rail is foolproof. And it takes any shaky-rattly strain off the brackets.