INVESTIGATOR 563

Coming back from sailing Sunday and the water leak in my standard rudder has gotten worse. After I pulled it aboard I could hear it sloshing around inside. Drained out about half a litre.

Clearly need to plug up the leak , but is a 563 rudder hollow? Anyone pulled one apart? It seems structurally solid enough . I assumed they were foam or balsa cored. If I dry it out and plug the leak ( in the seam near the pintail attachments ) will I be ok ?.

I can always use my wooden swing up rudder I got with the boat but as a have mentioned before it weighs a ton.

This is what my rudder looks like it is solid and I think original - I recently repainted it and in sanding it back confirm it is not hollow.

Mark, your rudder is not the original- it is far better!

Ozzie:

I've never used the original rudder that came with my boat; it seems too heavy, large and cumbersome (unless you plan to paddle a lot with it).

Instead, the previous owner had a NASA rudder made which is a gem: effectively a thin fibreglass blade much like a dagger board, but it must be hollow, as it floats.

This has been a bonus on those few days when I have accidentally lost it over the stern while fumbling to sit it into its SS cheek assembly.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoff Its not a bad thought actually , having a floating rudder and come to think of it mine does float so I guess ahollow section would be better. anyway Ive dried the critter out now and im going to seal later today. Pic shows the original white rudder and the lift up one the previous owner made .... a lot of work went into it but the pivot frame is heavy gal steel and the blade is the same shape and thickness as the original but SOLID marine ply .It must weigh twice as much and apart from the difficulty of putting it on when moored it must put more strain on the rudder pins.

Other item in the pic is the ancient mariner air cooled 5 now 34 years old and still going strong after its last rebirth at the local mechanoid. I have relegated it to a spare now and bought a water cooled mariner off a TSP regular but its still a fave and I use it regularly just to keep it going.

do they have drain hole in the bottom of them as mine has and i do not think it should be their ?

No drain in mine but it's wide enough for a plastic screw drain. Maybe that's not a bad idea?

Geoff, hearing wat you say about the NASA . Wonder if I made a thin rudder to fit the pivot frame I've got with the same shape but no thickness and thus reduced weight . The original and my timber copy are very thick shaped foils , but, is ths really needed for performance. How much lift does the rudder provide. Ian?

Ozzie:

Sorry, I gave you a bum steer earlier with a typo.

It should be NACA rudder, not NASA. if you do a google search you'll find lots of designs to chose from, all with proven hydrodynamics.

Cheers,