Rudder and Centreboard mods and questions

[Pete H]

Hi Guys,

When I took delivery of my new Legacy two years ago I was surprised to find that the rudder was cut from a flat sheet of aluminium with sharp square edges. I would have expected the edges to be at least rounded off.

I have had no issues with how the rudder operates, it's just that those sharp edges don't seem right.

I have read quite a bit on here about fully foiled rudders, I have also checked prices and availability, and am not prepared to pay that much when the current rudder actually works reasonably well.

So, this winter I grabbed the rudder, clamped it to the workbench and took to it with a hand plane and file and rounded over the leading edge and tapered the last three inches of the trailing edge. Possibly won't work any better but at least it looks as if it should.

Has anyone done something similar? If so, what were the results?

Now, the centreboard! I assume it is just a flat sheet with squared off edges also. What have people done with that? Softened the edges? Foiled it? Let it be? How did you do it and was it worth it?

Any comments appreciated.

Cheers,

[Bob23]

Interesting, Pete:
   I don't know that the foil you created will be pronounced enough to feel any difference but now that you are going to enter your sailing season, I'll be interested in how the boat actually feels to you. What kind of hand plane did you use to remove that much aluminum? Must've been pretty dull once you got done, eh? I'll let others who have this same boat chime in.
   How is the weather down under? 37 degrees F right now in NJ.
Cheers!
Bob brrr 23

[Mike K]

I have a Legacy and considered for a few minutes about adding a foil to the rudder, or buying another one, but decided it works just fine with a flat old hunk of metal hanging out back.  I didn't think it was worth all the hassle and cost it would add to this simple, inexpensive day sailor.

I also considered rounding the leading and trailing edges of the aluminum, but decided against it as I didn't know if the rudder was anodized to prevent corrosion and to harden it against wear?  Besides, rounding a flat piece of sheet does not add "lift" on the low pressure side as a proper foil shape would.

Now that the deed is done and you've rounded yours already, can you report back in a few months to see if there's more salt water corrosion happening at the cut-away portions?  No rush, we will still be here shoveling snow and freezing in our homes dreaming about your wonderful sailing season that is just starting down there!