How not to lose a rudder?

Merrily

Administrator
I turtled my boat and when I righted it, the rudder and tiller were gone. I thought that the rudder retention thingy on the stern of the boat seemed a bad bit of engineering, and I found out the hard way that I was right. OUCH! What's a better way to retain the rudder?

Janet
 
are you talking about the pindles falling off or did the ruder just fall off the pindles?.
if the rudder just fell off the pindles you could fix it by a split pin ,ring ect through 1 of the pindles if the pindles fell off the boat well thats uncommon sillicone & screws will fix all
 
keiran searle AUS said:
are you talking about the pindles falling off or did the ruder just fall off the pindles?.
if the rudder just fell off the pindles you could fix it by a split pin ,ring ect through 1 of the pindles if the pindles fell off the boat well thats uncommon sillicone & screws will fix all


The pintles on the rudder slipped out of the gudgeons on the stern. The rudder lift stop on the stern didn't do its job. Are you talking about putting some kind of pin on the pintle after it's in place on the boat?

Also, any chance that the rudder/tiller combo are still floating around on Alum Creek Reservoir, or did it go staight down?

I appreciate any help.

Janet
 
Merrily said:
The pintles on the rudder slipped out of the gudgeons on the stern. The rudder lift stop on the stern didn't do its job. Are you talking about putting some kind of pin on the pintle after it's in place on the boat?
Also, any chance that the rudder/tiller combo are still floating around on Alum Creek Reservoir, or did it go staight down? I appreciate any help.
Janet

A couple of things some of the rudder heads acutally have a small hole drilled in the upper pintle where you can put a "ring-ding" or pin it. I think they are the dark grey colored ones being sourced from Brazil. However if you don't use a pin (which is a hassle) you should always check to make sure your rudder lift stop is always bent up enough to "click" over the top of the rudder pintel once in place. It also seems your traveller must of been pretty loose for the tiller and rudder assembly to completey fall out. The assembly actually should not of sunk all the way to the bottom but is probably 2-3 feet below the surface floating rudder up (it is foam cored). Drag around with a net if the Creek isn't too big..
 
Janet, that sucks and is an expensive lesson ouch! The Boathouse advise is spot on. Follow it and you should not lose another rudder. However, I think you can give up on finding your first one unless you were in a confined area.


TheBoathouse said:
A couple of things some of the rudder heads acutally have a small hole drilled in the upper pintle where you can put a "ring-ding" or pin it. I think they are the dark grey colored ones being sourced from Brazil. However if you don't use a pin (which is a hassle) you should always check to make sure your rudder lift stop is always bent up enough to "click" over the top of the rudder pintel once in place. It also seems your traveller must of been pretty loose for the tiller and rudder assembly to completey fall out. The assembly actually should not of sunk all the way to the bottom but is probably 2-3 feet below the surface floating rudder up (it is foam cored). Drag around with a net if the Creek isn't too big..
 
"have a small hole drilled in the upper pintle where you can put a "ring-ding" or pin it."

Do you drill the hole yourself, or can you buy them that way?

"It also seems your traveller must of been pretty loose for the tiller and rudder assembly to completey fall out. "

The traveller was as tight as I could get it. That puzzles me too.

"The assembly actually should not of sunk all the way to the bottom but is probably 2-3 feet below the surface floating rudder up (it is foam cored). Drag around with a net if the Creek isn't too big.."

Alas, the "Creek" is a reservoir for a city of a million people. Sinking 2-3 feet explains everything. Visibility is low due to algae growth and silt.
 
the rudder and assembly sinks like a rock...no chance finding it a couple feet below the surface.

I lost mine but was lucky that the water was shallow and found it resting on the bottom in about 4ft of water. I got caught by a wave when I was coming ashore and the wave lifted the boat and the rudder hit bottom in the trough of the wave and capsized with me holding the boat at the bow. Despite the rudder retaining spring/clip being well adjusted, the action still managed to pop it out.

This winter's project it to cross drill the top pintle with a drill press and attach a circ clip or small clip (like the kind that holds our wheels on our dolly)
 
I lost my rudder near my beach landing once. It first time I used my brand new boat and didn't tighten the bolt in the rudder head enough to let the rudder just kick up and stay there. I had to take it and the tiller completely out of the gudgoens and I went to paddle my boat in when a gust came and flipped it over. The next day I had to free dive some 20 feet down at low tide to find my tiller and rudder in perfect condition. I got lucky.
 
Hello Janet,
Sorry to hear you lost your rudder, I agree with Scott and Rob's advice. Do you know someone or are you competent with power tools? It wouldn't be too difficult to drill a small hole in your upper rudder head pintle. You might have to grind a tiny flat spot first to prevent your drill bit from walking off center or use a center punch to make a ding but I bet if you were careful and took your time you could manage it. You can find the "hair pin cotter pin" at most any home depot, or auto parts stores. A small one, 1/16th or 1/32nd of an inch should work nicely and depending on what size you get would determine what size hole you would drill into the pintle. If you really want to make it snazzy and you sail in saltwater get a stainless steel pin to use.
Good luck,
Fishingmickey
150087/178894
 
" the rudder hit bottom in the trough of the wave and capsized with me holding the boat at the bow. Despite the rudder retaining spring/clip being well adjusted, the action still managed to pop it out."

Just to explore ideas: What would have happened if the pintle was pinned so the rudder couldn't pop out in the above situation? Might it have damaged the gudgeons or the stern? Would this be a reason to not put a clip/pin on one of the pintles?

Janet
 
The exact same thing that happened to Steven happened to me when I first started sailing the Laser. Only I didn't find mine.

I'm not sure why, perhaps because it was an Olympic boat (I donno) but my upper pindle never had any overhang, meaning I couldn't fit a pin.

[/QUOTE]Just to explore ideas: What would have happened if the pintle was pinned so the rudder couldn't pop out in the above situation? Might it have damaged the gudgeons or the stern? Would this be a reason to not put a clip/pin on one of the pintles?
-Most yacht classes do have a pin, at my club it's compulsory to prevent people losing their rudders during capsizes. It's just unfortunate that the Laser systems with the little metal tag isn't always reliable. The only reason Steven and I lost our rudders was because the boat was stationary, otherwise the rudder would have just rotated in the rudder box.
 
I just checked the rudder heads on some new boats (05 model year) that we have in stock and they are all pre-drilled with a hole for a pin in the top pintel. They have the darker grey colored assemblys that are stamped made in Brazil. So it would be wise for anyone buying a new assembly to check this out if they are concerned with loosing there rudder. Janet is your creek a drinking water resevoir that is filled with algae...mmm can you say drink Poland Spring Water... :)
 
re: Just to explore ideas: What would have happened if the pintle was pinned so the rudder couldn't pop out in the above situation? Might it have damaged the gudgeons or the stern? Would this be a reason to not put a clip/pin on one of the pintles?

I don't think any damage would happen, we are not talking about a violent action but one that is just strong enough to push the retaining spring enough to pop out the rudder. If I had a circ-clip in and the rudder hit bottom I think that it would just raise the rear of the boat at that instant, it is not a particularly heavy boat. I guess it could break the gudgeon, but then you are still going to lose a rudder
 
personally, idont have much confidence in rudder pins. i think the best solution is just to tie a rudder retaining line just like you would tie a mast retaining line.
 
At the Aussie Nationals the measurers were making everyone that didn't have one, put in a rudder retaining pin, so I think it is class rules?
 
pyrique said:
personally, idont have much confidence in rudder pins. i think the best solution is just to tie a rudder retaining line just like you would tie a mast retaining line.

It sounds like the simplest solution. What do you tie the line to?

Janet
 
funny story, sumone turtled my boat purposely against my wishes, and ~TWONG~ i swear i will never forget that sound as i swam to the transom and yelled at the top of my lunghs F**************************!!!!!!!!!!! i wasnt happy. so the newrudder i have will NEVER fall out with that split ring, and prevously stated.

Part 3.
15. (h) A hole may be drilled in the top rudder pintle and a pin or clip inserted in the hole to prevent loss of the rudder.
 

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