new/used rudder needed for daysailer 2

[surfnsail24]

Fellow DSers

So I bought my fixer-upper '76 DS II less than a month ago and took it on it's first maiden voyage yesterday. Since I haven't attached an engine I decided to tack out of the creek before taking it into the river for a few hours. Made it out and in to port safely and only had a cracked rudder. The rudder that came with the boat is NOT the typical one like you see on the D&R Marine website: http://www.drmarine.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DS109

INSTEAD, it consists of a fiberglass/aluminum casing around a piece of oak (the rudder piece), where a 15" pin is inserted from the top thru the pintle holes on the boat. Beneath the tiller is a hollow aluminum box that has a line running thru attached to the rudder for kicking it up. Since the rudder kept kicking up while sailing yesterday I decided to bungee the rudder board down.

I'm not sure if the water pressure from sailing in the river or a combination of the old fiberglass casing, rough currents, and strong winds cracked the casing...


Instead of dropping $500 for a new D&R replacement, I was wondering if someone may have some ideas as to how to build your own STURDY rudder/tiller system, could recommend a cheaper alternative or had one for sale.....

Thanks guys for the help thus far and happy sailing!

surfnsail24

[Baysailer]

I think you'll find a lot of interesting articles that Bob Hunkins has made available including a good one on the rudder head.

http://www.bobhunkins.com/mt-archives/c ... icles.html

Fred B

[persephone]

I would also add that the new replacements, while nice are very heavy. I bought one for my old javelin (same head and blade) and they easily weighed twice what the originals weighed. I am currently working on a new aluminum head for my boat. Something that I think is lacking (from what I can tell) in the existing design for the aluminum head is a brace to reduce torsional loads (twisting from the top to the bottom). I am incorporating such a brace in mine. I have access to a machinist and welder, so I am using a solid laminated tiller, building an aluminum receiver for it that will bolt on to and pivot on the rudder head. I will have a modified fiberglass head and aluminum tiller with spinlock extension available, but it might be a month or two still. I do have a javelin/daysailer rudder blade left over from my javelin. It needs some touch up glass work to the exterior, but I wouldn't be looking for much for it.
If you are not racing in sanctioned events you could try an aftermarket replacement. I was looking at one from idasailor marine

http://www.idasailor.com/catalog/produc ... 50dde205d6
Still around $500, but I think it is a much better rudder.