I thought that the ruddercraft plastic surface would resist fouling but I needed to scrub it twice since mid July. Will anti-fouling paint stick to it? What do others who leave it down use?
Phil
You do need to coat the rudder with bottom paint. Rough up the plastic surface with 80 grit sandpaper and the paint will stick to it just fine.
Marc
I prefer not to leave mine down when I'm not sailing. That's kind of the whole point of the upgraded rudder, isn't it?
Wes
I concur with Wes. Lift the Rudder out of the water. It won't foul and you have less turbulent flow over the surface when in use.
TG
On my CP16 the rudder won't come completely above the waterline when raised. I have not done this yet, but here is advice from the RudderCraft website:
Painting
High Density Polyethylene is naturally non- adhesive to most products. In order to apply anti-fouling paint you should:
1) Clean the surface (brand new rudders are shipped clean)
2) Prepare by surface sanding the area to be painted with 220-grit sandpaper
3) Apply anti-fouling paint. IdaSailor Marine recommends VC-17 or Micron-17, applied according to manufacturer's instructions.
I have one of the basic Ruddercraft replacements which has made a huge difference over the flat plate. After the rudder kept lifting part way I tightened it down as much as I dare lightly tapping the threaded arm with a hammer I happened to have on board. That has been working pretty well but I'm afraid to strip the bronze threads so I try to leave it once set. I'd like to be able to use a derlin pin, bolt, golf tee etc to keep it down but, if you snag a lobster bouy, the line rides up to the rudder casting without tripping the rudder and the rudder needs to be lifted by hand to clear it. Don't ask how I know. Maybe a derlin bolt combined with a hole just big enough to allow for removal on the water would make a workable hold down along with a smooth bottom paint like VC17.
Phil