Re: RUDDERS

Posted by LeeG on Mar 25, 2005

I installed a peg in the deck rudder to a Ch18 that was used in lessons/rentals. The stern was notched out to eliminate the high mounted rudder block and provide for a wood block protector on the tip of the blade when it was on deck. The top of the exposed end pour was glassed over with three layers of 6oz glass and the stern was wrapped with three layers of 6oz glass. The top of the end pour developed a crack on both sides with waterstaining cracks showing up in the varnished wood. It was pretty minor and took a couple years to develop. The glass in the stern wasn't cracked,,just what was on top of the endpour at the hole. It was repaired with thinned epoxy poured into the hole while spreading the crack open. Then a cap of three layers of 2" unidirection carbon cloth over the top of the hole, re-drilled and varnished. Looks slick. Essentially a carbon bracket was formed over the hole. One of the things that really is never acknowledged about flip on deck rudders is that it assumes you will not be doing very much emptying out of a kayak at shore by picking up the bow and turning it over to drain the cockpit of water. Whether it's a $3200 carbon kevlar kayak with rudder or a $1000 plastic kayak with rudder or a kayak with no rudder, if you get out at shore and the cockpit is full of water the most common method for emptying it is turning it over and lifting the bow. Besides heading into shore with the rudder down that's the most common way the rudder mount is stressed. I've been rounding and glassing the stern/deck end of kayaks with a lot of glass,,a little 1" round patch of glass can hold up well when that's the method for emptying the kayak.

In Response to: RUDDERS by Shuswap Pat on Mar 24, 2005

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