Monday, November 12, 2012

Test Run

With the shaping of the rudder complete (still missing the touch up coat, glassing and paint) and a great weather forecast for this last Sunday, there was no excuse to miss a perfect sailing day. Winds were in the 10's gusting 15/17 Knts.





This is what the rudder was looking like on Sunday; as you can see, still needs some touch up before the glassing and painting but I figure it will be good enough for a test run.
The fit was perfect, one thing I noticed immediately was that this one is a lot more buoyant than the original one, I actually had to push it down into the water in order to hook the pintles, the original would have gone under water.
I was curious to see if the extension I built into the leading edge was going to interfere with the hull but there was no problem there.







 There she is in her natural habitat.
(Notice the engine warming up ready to leave the slip)
Leaving the slip and maneuvering in tight quarters showed no noticeable difference (the boat still turns on a dime with minimal forward movement). I do understand that having a greater wetted surface will slow me down, again I do not race and the amount it will slow me down will most likely be not noticeable to me. Also, I do understand the shape is not perfect, therefore another loss of performance.
To my surprise it steered very well, I would venture to say better than before, I was not sure I was going to be able to tell the difference between the original and the modified one but I actually could feel it and I attribute it to the forward extension.  It seems more balanced and no so much force is necessary to keep her on course when the wind picks up and the boat wants to round up (as in a gust); in other words, it makes it easier to hold a steady course.
Keep in mind this is just one test under Sunday's particular wind conditions.
I have sailed with the other rudder under similar conditions and that's what I base my comparison on.

Next is the final touch up coat, some sanding, glassing both sides and paint. Can't wait !!!

I might still get a few more sails this year .....

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