Ida Rudder comparison to stock rudder

[jb]

just received a new Ida Rudder and noticed that it has more water exposure that the original rudder when in the up position. It appears that the new rudder cannot rotate entirely up to take advantage of the opening in the rudder housing. Is this consistent with others who have purchased the Ida Rudder? The boat is kept on a mooring so this extra water exposure is not desirable.

thanks in advance for any responses.

j

[skip1930]

I drilled a hole in the aluminum rudder's head and through the rudder and 'pinned' my IdaSalor Rudder down so she won't kick up on our seaweed.
I don't pick the rudder up out of fresh water where I sail.

Your in salt?

skip.

[nies]

The rudder tends to float when  raised,  so I also drilled a hole ,but in the rudder ,and attached a line, like the old rudder to keep the rudder fully raised by cleating it in the up position. ....................also drilled another hole in the top front and placed a clevis which I attached a shock cord from clevis to top of rudder, thus allowing the rudder to kick up without worrying if I had it tighten to much..........checked with Ida and they said no problem, has worked fine for the last three years............nies

[jb]

I guess my explanation of the issue may not be clear.

I keep my boat on a saltwater mooring for the season, thus part of the rudder always seem to be exposed to the water when raised and not in use. The Ida Rudder in the raised position has more  water exposure than the original rudder. The problem, as I see it, is the Ida is not able to make a full rotation with the rudder housing like the original rudder. I overlaid the Ida over the original and it seems like the there is extra aluminum material on the part of the Ida that fits into the rudder housing that prevents the rudder from making a full rotation and thus leaving more exposure to the water when in the up position.

A couple of pictures may help but I have not mastered the posting process... yet. I could email the pictures to someone that may be able to post them on the site for a clearer view.

I discussed this with Rudder Craft and their response was

   " we haven't have any feed back from out Compac customers with any similar issues. Not sure if your pivot is just in a different location or what. Feel free to trim back the aluminum head of your new rudder if it's going to help with the up haul. All of our CP-16 holes are drilled in the same location and we sell about 15-20 a year.  "



j

[carry-on]

jb,
Are you leaving the tiller midships while moored? Keeping the tiller max amount to stbd. or port while stowed was the advice in the owners manual to clear the water.
Rudder Craft makes a rudder head and blade unit that swings the blade to the sky while stowed. Neat unit. I think about $600.   
I've changed the blade to a Rudder Craft/IDA but since my boat is on the trailer, have not experienced the issue you describe.

[nies]

I guess a picture would help, you can trim the back of the top of the rudder without harming performance of the rudder, sorry could not be of any help................the Ida was one of the greatest things I ever did for my 16, difference between power steering and none on your car as well on your boat...........nies

[skip1930]

On a CP-19

" The rudder tends to float  "

The metal rudder is heavier on land [I read by 7 lb] but once in the water the plastic rudder is three lb lighter.
Still sinks though.

skip.

[jb]

finally ended up removing some of the excess aluminum on the rudder head to resolve the issue. I don't know if this issues pertains to CP-16s only or just my boat/rudder housing....disappointed with Rudder Craft's response. Hoping that the difference in performance will diminish this initial experience?

nies, re 

..."drilled another hole in the top front and placed a clevis which I attached a shock cord from clevis to top of rudder, thus allowing the rudder to kick "..

don't understand how this arrangement works?  If the rudder strikes bottom, what/how is the clevis pin released from it's position? Do you have to do it manually? How do you make the connection from the clevis pin to the shock cord? Picture, if possible, would be appreciated?


Thank you skip1930 and nies for your responses.

j

[nies]

test

[nies]

One end of the shock cord,with hook, is attached to the clevis and then run up and over the top rudder "hinge" and back down to the clevis and is hooked to the clevis also, the length and size of cord is determined by the tension needed to keep rudder down yet allow to rise if any thing is hit, the hardware stores have a nice selection of clevis and shock cords...........if you want I will measure mine for you...............pictures are beyond me ....................nies

[jb]

thanks nies.... the location of the hole that the clevis pin is inserted into would be helpful.

Maybe the pin side of a a shackle with a wide opening could be used instead of just a clevis pin?

j

[nies]

I should have said shackle and not clevis, will measure later today and post...............nies

[nies]

The pin is 1/4 inch, the hole is 1"from leading edge and 1" down from top ...............the shock cord is 18" hook to hook and 3/8"in dia...............nies

[jb]

nies, thanks for the measurements

j

[atrometer]

nies

Thanks for the great idea and measurements.  I had asked Compac and they said use the bolt w/lever (handle) to tighten the rudder in place. "Never had a failure". I ordered it, installed it, tightened it, and saw if I kept cranking it down I would probably be their first failure.  Now I'll do it the common sense way.  So much for Compac expertise.