DaySailer.org Forum

I have a 81 Spindrift (Rebel) Daysailor I. I can not
figure out how to keep the kick up rudder down. I am new at this. It seems to be all there. It just floats back up to the surface with any movement at all. Thanks for any help. There is a small rope (line) that runs down the inside, but I can't figure out it helps.

David Riley (driley-at-ngc.edu)

I have a 1980 Rebel (DS 11100) that came with a very thick kick-up rudder that is two inches plus and it had the same problem as yours. I replace the rudder blade with a thinner one that has a more competitive shape. But before I did that I would tighten bolt and nut every time after I put in the down position. The small line was useless.

Gus Heismann (gus-at-heismann.net)

Thank you Gus. My rudder is the original, and it too
is very thick. If there was something or somewhere to
tie off the thin line, it would work, but there isnt,
I will try your trick on tightening it up, bet that
will work

David Riley (driley-at-ngc.edu)

I too have a "kick-up" problem with my rudder and found this little discussion handy. My rudder, though home-made, is of the precise dimensions expressed by the DSA. That said, I think the fabricator put too much contour on the flat sides of the board head, resulting in inconsistent compression between the cheeks (3/16" aluminum). Over-tightening the pivot only results in damaging the paint / glass on the board head.

I've decided to install a tethered fastpin through the aft curve of both cheeks, just above the notch at the top of the blade. I'll attach some sort of material between the board and the pin to act as a shield. This would be a sure way to keep the board down, and allow it up when I need to.

Like the others mentioned here, I have a kickup, that is can be tightened with a wing nut on the pivot. It is loose enough to kick up if it hits an underwater object, but snug enough to stay down underway. My problem is keeping it up while I am trailing it on or launching, as I like to mount the rudder in a stable environment such as the trailer, rather than risk loosing it overboard at the dock, when the boat is rocking and it is difficult to match pintle to gudgeon. So, what I have done is drilled a hole near the rear top of the blade, and run a 3/16" line up to a cleat on the rudderhead. I yank (haul) on the line and snug it in the small cleat and it stays up while I am launching (slowly) and backing up from the dock in shallow water under iron wind, as I turn around, and head to deeper water, I can lower the blade, and the cb for increased steerage. I usually, head up into the wind and hoist the main, then jib, back the jib to bear off, and kill and raise the motor once under sail. The DS I rudder may be different than the DS II.