Yes, reminds me of the rudders on my long-gone catamarans.That is really cool!
I'm not a nautical engineer, either, but isn't all that wood affecting drag? And giving up some space when retracted for beaching or trailering? If you cut 18" off the bottom, wouldn't you have the same beneficial effect on weather helm? (And less drag?)Here's what my new Sunfish rudder looks like. It's the bottom of an old daggerboard. Just shaped the top to match my old swept back original rudder head, clamped it in place with a new set of rudder cheeks when the leading edge was vertical and drilled a hole. It feels great. No weather helm. The lower image shows more of the boat to give you the scale of how long the rudder is. And the tiller? It's an old hockey stick. - Andy
Clearly, I've got a lot more surface area (drag) in the water than the stock Sunfish rudder. So, if I was sailing side by side to an identical Sunfish, with both boats flat and both rudders on the centerline at zero angle of attack, the other sailor may be faster.isn't all that wood affecting drag?
Yes, the rudder doesn't stick way up when retracted. But it raises more than you would think. As I remember, only a tiny bit of the rudder is touching the water when raised. However, if this was a problem, you just take 30 seconds, remove the rudder and put it in the cockpit.And giving up some space when retracted for beaching or trailering?
When deciding on a rudder length for this new vertical one, I used my Laser rudder as a benchmark. After I made my Laser rudder vertical, the tip of the rudder was 21 inches from the bottom of the transom. Using that as a guide, I made the tip of the vertical rudder on the Sunfish also 21 inches from the bottom of the transom.If you cut 18" off the bottom, wouldn't you have the same beneficial effect on weather helm? (And less drag?)
Yes, it is.Isn't some weather helm desirable?
If I may reply for NorCalSail, we are trying to match the grommet size and reinforcement panels (more than 3 layers of cloth) that are on my Intensity Sunfish sail. See the image below. NorCal's Sunfish sail doesn't have this reinforcement. I don't think the grommet size matters much but I believe having reinforcement panels does.What is the grommet work needed for? The Cunningham is rigged using the first grommet up from the tack, and the outhaul of course uses existing grommets.
Indeed. It was never intended to be class legal.It looks like this rudder would not comply with class rules.
To be honest BB, at the moment I'm drawing a complete blank as to what NorCal's area of his recreational sail luff at the first grommet up from the tack looks like. So, I'm assuming that I looked at it and said to myself, "Ok, this area needs to be reinforced before we fashion a cunningham."I did not know the recreational sails don't come reinforced. BB
I posted the original question - and it looks like nobody has yet followed the new ?rule? regarding the rudder. Again, I"m new to the class - must World Sailing approve the new rule before us Sunfish racers implement it on our boats? Has anybody on here modified their rudder to comply with the new rule - which I would also believe would cause the rudder to be more vertical? Thanks!The communication about this has been sparse. I race a fair amount and had never heard of the idea being proposed. I think it is to make the blade almost vertical if you want - similar to a Laser. I know World Sailing will need to approve the change but I don't know when they would be reviewing the change. It will take some skill to drill the hole properly and not mess up a perfectly good rudder.
What kind of boat is Eyeper Sailing?My sail has the grommet at the tack but only sail clip holes on the front edge. This can be seen in the picture Andy provided. The white sail clip at the top of the image is attached to what I assume is a weaker (?) grommet. I want to get a reinforced grommet like Andy's to add a similar cunningham. There is a shop down in Sausalito that gave me a quote of 20 to 50 dollars to add one so I thought that was a good deal and it might help me keep up with these guys. By the way, Eyeper and I had a great time sailing Tomales last Saturday. Some of my adjustments seemed to help-still couldn't keep up with him though.
A Laser....What kind of boat is Eyeper Sailing?
It's possible to notch the bottom leading edge of the rudder (in the cassette) to change the angle 10 degrees or so. You do have to plug and re-drill the hole for the tiller strap to get the angle back to normal. Drilling the hole isn't hard all you need to do is tighten the 2 rudder strap bolts enough to keep the holes parallel. drill half way from the right and half way from the left. Drilling only 3/8 deep from each side will not show a 3 degree error where they intersect because it's too short of a distance, I.E. self correcting.
It is worth the effort for a 10~15 degree reduction. it won't make you miraculously fast, but it takes some side load off the tiller. That reduced side force and good body positioning will get you to a point with almost no side load on the tiller while sailing. I've been sailing with roughly 108 degrees for about a year. Don't tell World Sailing, as I know they live in fear of an old 200 lb. sailor in a 1973 Sunfish winning the worlds.
I thought this new rudder rule 3.3.3 was approved by the class at the 2018 worlds? Surprised there are no pictures or instructions on how to make the change. Seems it would be very helpful to control weather helm.World Sailing needs to approve for it to be legal. Until that happens I doubt racers will make the change.
I thought this new rudder rule 3.3.3 was approved by the class at the 2018 worlds? Surprised there are no pictures or instructions on how to make the change. Seems it would be very helpful to control weather helm.