Rudders

No Yacht Yet · Post by **No Yacht Yet** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:58 am

Rose Marine in Gloucester Ma has the seal kit for about $12.00 and a couple dollars for shipping. Call them with the numbers from your pump.

No Yacht Yet · Post by **No Yacht Yet** » Tue Oct 17, 2017 9:03 am

Rose Marine in Gloucester Ma has the seal kit for about $12.00 and a couple dollars for shipping. Call them with the numbers from your pump.

Chum Bucket · Post by **Chum Bucket** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 3:27 am

[img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b48 ... lfx5t2.jpg[/img] More of a test pic. Hopefully Photobucket will allow it to be shown. Going to have spend the $25 to get the pics I uploaded. Jerks! Here's the rudders I built for my SF. Frank B sent me a pic and I copied his general design. Our rudders are nearly identical in size. 316 3/8" plate and shafts, can't imagine life without them.

Chum Bucket · Post by **Chum Bucket** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 3:32 am

Original compared to custom rudders. I think it's just about a 50% increase in surface area. Truth be told, square plate mwelded to the shaft will prob work equally as well. [img]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b48 ... e060e9.jpg[/img]

Chum Bucket · Post by **Chum Bucket** » Thu Nov 30, 2017 3:36 am

All I can insert is a large image. Photobucket jerks! Here's a another view. [img][IMG]http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b487/KD33bucket/haulout%202014/20140412_1132121_zps03aaa647.jpg[/IMG][/img]

eyecatcher · Post by **eyecatcher** » Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:35 am

very nice, Where can I get the oversize rudders? How much? How does it perform?

Chum Bucket · Post by **Chum Bucket** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 3:16 am

After getting a quote from Hightide and chatting with Frank B, I built my own. Even the oversized rudders Hightide gets from Buck Alonquin are smaller than mine. The 316SS round stock and plate can be ordered from anywhere. Check you local metal scrap yards. The round stock I used was a visibly bent 1.5" prop shaft. I paid like $25 for a 4' chunk. For about $400, I had a machine shop turn the shafts and machine the square top for the arms. If you look in the pic, I had shaft template. My first attempt to sweat on SS shafts to the original bronze rudder did not last a season. I took the plate to another shop who used a plasma cutter to rough cut the rudder shape and notch out for the shafts. I used my 4.5" Dewalt grinder to make it pretty. A friend of mine is a retired welder so I bought 316 welding rods and helped him assemble them. The most difficult part of the entire process was welding the shaft to the plate on straight. Total cost for both rudders, after beer and dinner for my buddy, was about $900. About 1/3 of the quoted price. I'm not knocking Danny at Hightide at all. He's in the business, has what you need and can get almost everything else, but it will cost you. I wanted something a little bigger, cheaper, and Mr. Bryson was my inspiration. If I had to do again, I would just keep most of square profile except for the top of the rudder. Unless you're hung up on cosmetics, the swept shape doesn't do much for functionality. I would add another 2"-3" to the leading edge closer to the prop. This would add some stress to the rudder bearings and shelves, but I believe it would increase the overall steering responsiveness(?). If your shelves or bearings are in poor shape now, I would strongly suggest making those repairs first before adding bigger rudders. In the no wake zones, I actually steer since it's infinitely more responsive then the original rudders. I can troll 3 knots with 1 engine and actually do really well. Add some wind, current, and it becomes more challenging. The boat is just so much more responsive at speed. No B33 is going to turn on a dime turning the helm no matter what you do, but oversized rudders make the job much easier. I cruise 21-24 knots sometimes through the gauntlet of deadheads and crab buoys. With original rudders, this made my butt pucker. With OS rudders, not so much. After new rudders, I had to reset my autopilot because it kept over steering. Original or oversized? It's just a matter of choice. I think the originals are horribly undersized, but there'a bunch of boats with small rudders. Ifyou look at single screw boats, they have bigger rudders for a reason. That's my 2 cents. Hope this helps.