MacGregorSailors.com

This is interesting, but I have older style aluminum brackets and I keep repairing my rudders constantly. They split verticaly at the top (around pivot holes). I guess that my repairs were not adequate since I am not the best fiberglass repairman. Maybe they will last longer if I take them to the dealer for repair.
I was thinking to build new rudders out of marine grade plywood and fiberglass coting over it. While thinking about it I am considering to change their shape into something more like new style rudders for stainless still brackets but closer to proper airfoil profile (like these at Ida sailor). Anybody from the board did this before?

Zoran

Zoran,
I made new rudders out of mahogony. Glued two 3/4' boards together after increasing their width Ten coats of varnish plus I strengthened the area that you have problems with by inlaying 1/4 stainless on each side to provide added support. The ss also handles the scratching that would occur with wood against ss. Iincreased the size of the rudders 30%.

If you cover plywood with glass be sure there is no leakage at the holes for the lines and bolts. Water will look for every way to get inside and cause rot. Murv

I made a set of rudders out of 1 inch red oak bought at a home depot about 5 years ago. very hard to cut and shape. Use a jig saw to cut the shape the same as the originals, then shaped the foil using first and powerful angle sander, then with an orbital palm sander. Stained them and then coated them with clear epoxy. Then of course they are too thin for the brackets, so made another shim board out of thinner red oak with just a hole drilled for the pivot hole. They look very pretty, but I was rather dubious that the waterproofing would last and was afraid of rot. Ended up never using them, since I figured they would quickly get all messed up in the salt water bay. Maybe now I will try them since I have the boat at a lake now. If I was doing it over again I would use UHMW PE for the shim material, and perhaps a wood that is easier to shape and more water resistant. I had not heard at the time that red oak has a bad reputation for rotting when wet. Also, the clear epoxy was a pain to work with. It cured funny and made a few bubbles in the finish. I think it was too hot out when I applied it.
This took a lot of time to do, but it kept me amused for a month.

Craig,
Sounds like you put in so much "love" that you don't want to mess 'em up in their intended purpose .... glad to hear you've decided to mount them. Otherwise, you've only gained one third of the lesson they can teach.

You still haven't learned how they perform, nor how they last. After a season or so, you'll either learn that they work great, or you can begin thinking about their replacements. And meanwhile, you might even have spares sitting in the garage, just in case!

Well, it looks like the way to go is to use hardwood (oak sounds good) 2x10, and shape it from one piece of wood, rather than to glue two pieces to get to necessary thickness. It can be varnished not necessary glassed. What about shape? I know from personal experience whenever my steering is stiff I have not tighten the rudders enough and they are loose. I am afraid to play with different shapes since it can screw my steering and looks like it is too much work for experiment. Any first hand experience? Will copying newer style for SS bracket work on older aluminum brackets?

Zoran

Well I'm back for all your original old site guys..

If drill out the pivot hole you can mount a lipped bronze bushing.. the bushing will remove the side to side play, keep the hole from elongating and not rust..

This works well for the keel also..

Best Regards
Tim S..

Hey Tim, good to hear from you again!

Zoran,

I would use white oak instead of red and gluing two 3/4 board to get 1 1/2 thickness is better than using one 1 1/2 board- less likely to crack or warp. Be sure to use waterproof glue.

Greg

hey tim, where have you been all the time? nice to see you back on the board.

There has been a lot of threads on this board about broken 26X and 26M rudders. I suspect that this is because of leaving the rudders down above speeds of 6 mph? Am I right
If not, how do the rudders get broken? (Maby another poll)

So a major question is - What rudders does the Mac need if someone wants to leave down the rudders above 6 mph?
I understand that leaving the rudders down over 6 mph is a problem at higher speeds, but if someone is surfing down waves, one needs some rudder control.

Or - Is the orginal rudders not strong enough and the factory needs to upgrade?

Then - What is the replacement rudders?

never heard of broken rudders. rudder heads have been the weak point of the pre '98 models but this problem can easily be solved by reinforcement.
never have rudders or cb down at speeds over about 8 knots.
my '97 model rudders (the old style oval ones) are kind of airfoil shaped and i never felt the necessity to replace them. the high performance rudders of idasailor seem to be very similar althoug they are designed to replace the new model with the s/s bracket. i doubt they will give a big performance advantage over the factory ones. any experience on this board?

Well my rudders broke twice, they actualy split verticaly at the top, and on one of them crack went all the way to the bottom (top and bottom reffer to the rudders down position). First time I was in the prety rough waters and at the same time fellow Mac owner broke rudder bracket and he was following me. I was surfing some waves and I deffinitely needed ruders for control. I repair them, probably not that good since they broke again while I was actually sailing. Mind you that day I set my record 7.6 kt (nautical miles) close reach and 8.4 kt running. I think I heard crack in the rudders while I was on close reach but I was too busy sailing, there were up to 5 feet swells, and couple time I had hard time fighting to keep teh boat on course. My dealer told me I have not fixed them properly what is probabaly true, but why they broke at the first place. That is why I would like to buid stronger rudders (I reinforced my brackets).
I was waching difference between new syle and old style brackets at my marina. New style brackets are much closer to the boat and I am afraid if I built mine in the same pattern My steering might be not so easy as it is right now. How big improvement can be if I built them with different more narow and longer shape?
Zoran

WHen the rudders are in the up position, and it goes below freezing outside, I think some rudders can get damaged if they retain water around the top (bottom when pulled up) of the rudder. I think this is what messed up one of mine. In terms of mechanical strength, I think they are plenty strong. Much stronger than the aluminum rudder heads.

I haven't heard of broken rudder problems, only broken rudder brackets on the earlier models prior to the steel brackets. Not long after I bought mine, I motored well beyond the 6mph limit with the rudders down before I realized it. What broke wasn't the rudder but rather the lower black bull eyes that the rudder line runs through.