Rudders

   Does anyone know which RS rudders can be swapped? I've an old style rs 200 rudder (sea sure) and I want a shorter blade for it.  Would a feva rudder work and is it actually any shorter?

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Ardea Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 06 Oct 15 Online Status: Offline Posts: 70	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ardea Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Rudders Posted: 31 Aug 19 at 1:59pm
	Does anyone know which RS rudders can be swapped? I've an old style rs 200 rudder (sea sure) and I want a shorter blade for it. Would a feva rudder work and is it actually any shorter?

GybeFunny Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 27 Oct 09 Online Status: Offline Posts: 403	Post Options Post Reply Quote GybeFunny Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 19 at 8:44am
	Are you sure? Its a pretty small blade already. Maybe call RS and ask them.

Ardea Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 06 Oct 15 Online Status: Offline Posts: 70	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ardea Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 19 at 12:31pm
	It's a weed issue I have where I sail and a shorter rudder would make sailing the boat significantly more enjoyable. It feels like a fairly long rudder such that you don't have to raise the centreboard much before I reckon the rudder is the deepest bit. (although to be fair I've not got around to measuring it). Just wondering if the old style feva rudder is something I should start looking out for, or if I'm just wasting my time.

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6644	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 19 at 12:47pm
	A too small rudder would make the boat highly unpleasant to sail. If you are a front of fleet sailor who can keep the boat bolt upright at all times and never has to use much rudder to control the boat you can get away with it, but if you are nearer the middle of the fleet you may well find that the boat goes out of control at a lower angle of heel, is more prone to the rudder stalling out in manoeuvres, and it may even lose grip at high speed. I'd also be concerned about balance, since modern boats are typically set up so the rudder contributes to lateral resistance. Plus of course there's the little matter of class rules. OTOH it is likely that RS would tend to err a little on the large side, since it makes the boat more user friendly at the cost of a little bit of top speed. Asking for an adjusted handicap for increased speed potential would therefore be the sporting thing to do. If I were determined to try it I would find a scrap blade off more or less anything, alter it to fit and see how the boat behaved. It only has to last long enough to give you an idea of the feel! Edited by JimC - 02 Sep 19 at 12:51pm

Ardea Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Groupie Joined: 06 Oct 15 Online Status: Offline Posts: 70	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ardea Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 03 Sep 19 at 8:46am
	Jim, thanks for the reply. This is definitely not a full time solution, it's to try and address a particularly bad weed issue, I certainly don't want to move it permanently out of class. I'm very happy with how the boat sails, but the weed seems to affect this boat really badly. The crux of the issue is that it is horrible to sail when weeded, and the frequency of having to clear the weed is so high that this isn't fun either. A simple solution to reduce the fouling would greatly improve the fun factor. I know the real answer is that I should use a different piece of water, or boat, while the weed is bad but currently I'm fairly time poor, hence the question of a simple swap (and I don't have anything approaching a scrap rudder to use). I've also started sailing with the board up a reasonable way (again for weed reasons), so smaller rudder shouldn't unbalance the boat and, to be honest, the weed is so bad an unbalanced weed free boat sounds a better prospect than a balanced one where I'm spending half my time removing weed! Having written out the above, I think the answer is to get out in a mirror and sail over/around the weed!

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6644	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 03 Sep 19 at 8:54am
	Alternative blades are best sourced by helping out with the clear out of abandoned boats at the annual club sort out! But sounds like an intractable problem. Short of accidentally dropping a barrel of paraquat overboard... Still, think of how much your mates owe you if you're trimming the weed before it gets to long enough to affect them...