Rudder Craft Unifoil Rudder

[Salty19]

Gabi, It's longer but wider. The thickest section is towards the front section of the blade, then it trails off.

[gabi]

ok maibe its longer and wider ,will see what the guys say, but the ratio length to width is clearly different from the pictures

my standard aluminum plate is 12'' by 20 some at the waterline

[deisher6]

Hey Gabi:
The foil is 42.5 inches X 10.5 inches.  Measured from the pivot it is 39 inches long.
I thought a flick would be nice.
Hope that this helps some.
regards charlie

[gabi]

thanks Charlie,

wow.. a picture really is worth a thousand words

[carry-on]

Interesting picture from Charlie. He has the full assembly with foiled blade.
For my 16, I purchased a foiled rudder blade from Rudder Craft. The new blade measures 11 3/4 in. front to back and 27 1/4 in. pivot hole to bottom.
The original blade is 12 in. front to back and 26 1/4 in. pivot hole to bottom.
Very little difference in overall dimensions..but the foiled shape makes a difference.
I don't have pictures but will get some next visit to the marina.
Was I fooled or foiled? Would like some input from others who replaced the blade rather than the assembly.

[deisher6]

Carry-on:
Hummmmm?  Makes me want to go out to the garage and check my measurements again.   I will tomorrow.
regards charlie

[carry-on]

Carry-on:
Hummmmm?  Makes me want to go out to the garage and check my measurements again.   I will tomorrow.
regards charlie

Charlie,
I don't doubt your measurements. From your picture, seems the rudder blade of the assembly would extend 12 or 13 inches deeper in the water compared to the aluminum blade. That is a big change which does not happen with the blade only replacement. Does the assembly sit higher in the rudder housing? If so, maybe the difference is above the waterline.

Aside...has something changed with the site? Starting yesterday, I don't get a list of "posts since last visit" and when I find a new post it is at the top of the string rather than the bottom. I've been on the site since 2007 ; first time I have seen this arrangement.

[deisher6]

Hey Carry-on:
I doubted them and checked this morning.  The measurements are correct, it does stick down further.  You can see the gudgeons in the picture.  It is interesting that there are two very different products.

The 'show unread posts' gives me different results from time to time.  They used to disappear from the list once read, now they stay there until I select the show unread button again.

regards charlie

[Salty19]

Hi Carry On,

No, I don't anything has changed.  You might try clicking on the little star or question mark to the upper left, next to the date and time. That toggles the header with the "show unread posts since last visit" and other links. If it's accidentally clicked, that might explain it.

[JBC]

Carry On

My foiled rudder is the same size as yours I'm sure (though the boat is in storage and I can't check its measurements right now).  However, when I looked at Charlie's great pic, I was very surprised by the difference in lengths. 

I also still have an older shaped rudder that is longer, more in tune with Charlie's, that came with a previous 16.  It has a crack in it, so it sits now until I can ever get around to fix that.  But I will say that I had to gybe the 16 once with that rudder "on a dime" to avoid a lee shore, since I couldn't head up any tighter into a strong wind, and I was very surprised how nimble the boat's response was. It almost turned 180 within its own length.  Didn't expect that with the stubby shoal keel. Perhaps the longer rudder version does indeed have some advantages, but I've not repeated that move with the shorter version, so don't really know.  Either one of the shaped foils outperforms the standard blade, though.  That's for sure!

P.S.  My list of posts seems to be working as usual.

[carry-on]

Well, thanks to Salty19 my view of the site is back to normal.. whatever that is. I clicked the asterisk in the upper corner, lost a picture but back in battery.
Anyway, I took a couple pictures of the rudder blades today and the blade heights are quite similar as are the pivot points.
The white, HPDE, foil is all in the water when sailing or motoring. I would say 1 to 2 inches more blade in the water compared to the aluminum blade.