DaySailer.org Forum

I just bought hull #3395 and find that the rudder is 3/4" in thickness and the slot into which it fits is 7/8". What kind of spacers are used? Without some spacers the wingnut cannot tighten it down enough to keep the rudder down.

Kokko,
Welcome to the forum.

A couple of ideas;
You can get large plastic (PTFE?) washers at home improvement stores, that would fill the gaps and should grip the rudder well enough.
You could use some hardwood shims and epoxy or polyester resin to build up the rudder head in the area inside the rudder head.
Some of us drill a 1/4" hole through the rudder and head and put in a wooden dowel to keep the rudder down. This would still break away if you hit something, but otherwise the rudder is perminately in the full down position. This is class legal for racing. no more than 1/4" and must be wood.
If you are a bit handy, you may also consider building a new rudder that is thicker.

happpy sailing phill

Is this gap normal? I would expect some washers or something.
I was thinking of rubber washers that would compress to keep the rudder down, but allow the rudder to kick up if I hit something.

If your rudder and head are original, it surprises me that the fit is that far off. The originals on Lollilpop were very tight. Heavy too, 16 lbs total weight. Eventually I built a new rudder head out of aluminum and the rudder out of laminated wood and fiberglass. Now total assembly weighs just under 8 lbs, and is shaped for better preformance.

The rubber washers is a good idea if you can get them thin enough and get them to slide in. Maybe a thick soapy solution would work to get them in and then rinse out to get the grippy fit to keep the rudder down.

phill