Rudder Quick Release

[Piddle and Futz]

So, I'm having the boat repowered this week, and then we're trailering our half way across the country and back (using the boat as our camper), plus I've had some rudder damage in the past I repaired (I think from trailering)... long story short, I'd really like an easy way to dismount the rudders for trailering to prevent them from being in the way and getting damaged.

The pivot bolt is trivial. It's the lines that are a bit of a hassle. I don't want to have to rethread them through the rudder or the tube each time.

If I don't mind a bit of increased drag, I'm thinking I could make the rudder lines a continuous loop and put some SS fittings on the rudder where they connect.

Thought I would reach out to the community to see if the wealth of experience and intelligence here has a proven solution for this.

[Russ]

Can you just make a loop and then use a carabiner?

I added loop and a small block to make it easier to lift out of the water. I could have added a carabiner to it and make it removable. Hard to see, but my rudder lines go to a block about a foot above the loop in the rudders.

I have also gone to using D rings for the safety pins and spreaders to make rigging faster.

[TonyHouk]

Here is what I did to mine. I started the line tied off at the cleat on the cockpit coaming. It the goes down to the rudder. On the rudder I have a block that halves the lifting effort. The block is held to the back side of the rudder by a big becket. You can see it in the picture I will attach.
Once the line goes through block it goes back up through the cleat on the cockpit coaming. The cleat on my boat has a hole through the mounting points. The line runs through that hole.
From the hole it goes down to the eyelet for the rudder hold tight. Before it gets to the eyelet I made up a figure eight bungee that allows the rudder to spring up a little if it hits bottom. The line goes through the bottom eyelet and then through the hole on the front of the rudder. There is enough slack so that the rudder can go from full down to full up.

I hope that helps. I will try to attach the pictures on Friday when I get to the boat.

[Piddle and Futz]

Here is what I did to mine. I started the line tied off at the cleat on the cockpit coaming. It the goes down to the rudder. On the rudder I have a block that halves the lifting effort. The block is held to the back side of the rudder by a big becket. You can see it in the picture I will attach.
Once the line goes through block it goes back up through the cleat on the cockpit coaming. The cleat on my boat has a hole through the mounting points. The line runs through that hole.
From the hole it goes down to the eyelet for the rudder hold tight. Before it gets to the eyelet I made up a figure eight bungee that allows the rudder to spring up a little if it hits bottom. The line goes through the bottom eyelet and then through the hole on the front of the rudder. There is enough slack so that the rudder can go from full down to full up.

I hope that helps. I will try to attach the pictures on Friday when I get to the boat.

That sounds like a winner. Would love to see the photos.

On a side note, it looks like my port rudder (which was damaged when I got the boat) does not look long for this world. I looked at the replacements from Ruddercraft and winced at the price. Acquired some HDPE and plan to shape a new pair. Will post that project on a new thread. Most important is that HDPE will be even heavier than OEM so the block will be necessary (especially for my wife). Also gives us some liberty as to where to locate the hoist connection.

[WinSome]

Sorta on topic of rudder hoist assist. Our X seems to have an aftermarket rudders that respond and handle well. Had trouble lifting the rudders as they are very forward and we couldn’t start the lift without leaning/reaching way out ( dangerous) to start the lift. We added a lifting block ( great idea) I recommend to everyone. That alone didn’t solve the start of the lift. This is the lift bracket we made to change the initial lifting point/angle. We re-worked a piece of industrial shelving leg. Works like a charm






When the lift is initiated, the angle is shifted back and out, resulting in a very easy lift. Our rudders do come up to near vertical.
FYI. Our rudder hold-down and uplift lines are a continuous loop which we highly recommend.

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[Piddle and Futz]

Thank you.

I had seen a similar mod for a lifting bracket and wondered if others had done the same. That first part of the lift where the line is very close to the pivot point is definitely the hardest.

Given that we mostly salt water sail, I'm thinking that we may want to use stainless. How does yours hold up to the elements?

In shaping the new rudders it occurs to me that I may be able to relocate the lift point for a better lift angle (perhaps at the expense of not being able to lift them as high).