chaplinesq
New Member
The 2009 SF Masters was held at Lewes YC, this past weekend. All the sailors and the RC P.R.O. agreed to allow me to use the rudder and take myself out of the running for trophies. Here's what I remember. Since it had been a couple weeks since I'd sailed, my "rudder memory" was a bit...distant. The wind was a steady 15-18, maybe more; ideal to test the new blade, according to its developer Tom Whitehurst. A few people watching me thought I was able to point higher, but then I'm a pincher anyway, so that may have just been me. I had some terrible starts, so it was come from behind time all day long. My usual. But, to my credit (or maybe the rudder's), I DID have a few better than average (for me) come from behind legs.
Upwind the feel was...fluid; requiring much less effort to move the boat around. Downwind?...money making time. Sweet feel. I felt I was faster than ME, downwind; and the boat goes where you want it to, immediately. You know those days when you're manhandling/hugging the tiller extension downwind, and you get that sore spot just above your elbow? The new rudder would cure SUNFISH ELBOW. For that reason alone, I'd promote it. I appreciated the opportunity to test the rudder in battle conditions.
All weekend I was trying to think of the perfect phrase or concept to describe the difference. I think I found it. I didn't think of it until Monday, when I was able to get back out on Clarks Hill Reservoir in Georgia; again in 15+ gusts, to remember what the normal rudder feels like, in a blow. I'm old enough to remember cars before POWER STEERING. The new rudder gave me exactly that feeling...of having some sort of hydraulic system attached, making it sooo much easier to turn and maneuver. You want POWER STEERING for your Sunfish? I do.
The downside? You won't be able to scull your boat back to the dock on those dead air days; but then you won't have to watch the "scullers" work upwind either; unless of course they're using the old rudder. hmmm
My personal opinion is that it's not the question of a couple hundred bucks. It will be the question of availability; how soon can "I" get one? I've tried it, I'm hooked.
POWER STEERING for your Sunfish!
John R Helman DMD
Upwind the feel was...fluid; requiring much less effort to move the boat around. Downwind?...money making time. Sweet feel. I felt I was faster than ME, downwind; and the boat goes where you want it to, immediately. You know those days when you're manhandling/hugging the tiller extension downwind, and you get that sore spot just above your elbow? The new rudder would cure SUNFISH ELBOW. For that reason alone, I'd promote it. I appreciated the opportunity to test the rudder in battle conditions.
All weekend I was trying to think of the perfect phrase or concept to describe the difference. I think I found it. I didn't think of it until Monday, when I was able to get back out on Clarks Hill Reservoir in Georgia; again in 15+ gusts, to remember what the normal rudder feels like, in a blow. I'm old enough to remember cars before POWER STEERING. The new rudder gave me exactly that feeling...of having some sort of hydraulic system attached, making it sooo much easier to turn and maneuver. You want POWER STEERING for your Sunfish? I do.
The downside? You won't be able to scull your boat back to the dock on those dead air days; but then you won't have to watch the "scullers" work upwind either; unless of course they're using the old rudder. hmmm
My personal opinion is that it's not the question of a couple hundred bucks. It will be the question of availability; how soon can "I" get one? I've tried it, I'm hooked.
POWER STEERING for your Sunfish!
John R Helman DMD