I'm trying to get my new used 19 in order and was wondering how free is the rudder tension to go up down . Mine is just the weight of the rudder that holds it down?
Thanks
Tighten the bolt lever as tight as you can by hand. You don't want it slipping unless you run aground, in which case it's going to pop up regardless of how much you tightened it.
If you under-tighten the bolt and the rudder slips partially up while underway, it's almost impossible to get the rudder back down without stopping the boat.
Wes
How does the rudder pop up the rudder has a rope to pull up but I don't see anything that would give it upward tension.
It is just water force that pushes the rudder up if the friction clamp isn't tight enough. We sail around alot of shoal water and constantly touch the rudder. Steering rapidly deteriorates once yhe ruder is not all the way down. With practice I have gotten good at reaching over the stern and shoving it back down , but it is very hard to do with any speed on. Come to think of it, getting the rudder back down underway is about the only thing on a 19 that isn't perfect.
The amount of force acting on a rudder when underway is surprisingly high. There's an interesting article in the recent issue of "Good Old Boat." Don't think we can blame Hutchins; it's just physics.
Yes, no blame to Hutchins for physics.
Prindle catamarans had a system that provided enough mechanical advantage to re set a rudder at 20 knots. A completely different design concept. I hadn't thought much about it before, but I wouldnt surprised if some good engineer has an elegant solution.
Anyone have a picture of one
My 19-II has a lever arm on the bolt on the nut side. I can hand tighten down, and use lever to release the tension. Helps as I keep rudder blade up and our of water at slip. I will take pic this weekend. I an not sure if previous owner figured this simple solution out or if Hutchins did, but it works.