more rudder questions

[rayman]

I have recently bought a small (19'4") cruiser/racer and will set it up to cruise the Queensland coast. It has a reverse angled stern and an outboard mounted rudder which I want to change. What is/was the advantage of the foreward raked rudder? and transom? I want to make a verticle mount with a little balance and a kick-up blade because I just know I am going to bottom out somewhere sometime and don't want to tear the rudder off.

[gonzo]

The keel is deeper than the rudder. If you need a kick-up one, the boat will be pounding on the bottom.

[Doug Lord]

You could add a kick-up rudder with a little balance fairly simply but making the rudder vertical will triple the amount of work for very little gain. I don't see that angle as worth the hassle of straightening it. While it's always possible the rudder will hit- that keel seems like some fairly good protection.
Have any others in your class made the changes you want to make?

[CutOnce]

Originally Posted by rayman

I have recently bought a small (19'4") cruiser/racer and will set it up to cruise the Queensland coast. It has a reverse angled stern and an outboard mounted rudder which I want to change. What is/was the advantage of the foreward raked rudder? and transom? I want to make a verticle mount with a little balance and a kick-up blade because I just know I am going to bottom out somewhere sometime and don't want to tear the rudder off.

Unless you build an extension to the transom which allow vertical mounting of the pintles and gudgeons, you will have a rudder that has most of it's area forward of the hinge axis. This would be unstable and will try to move off centerline constantly. By doing this you will also be killing resale value on your boat by moving the design away from the designer's intent.

Gonzo is right - you will be grinding your keel down before your rudder touches, so why bother? If you are looking for a shallow draft beachable reef-friendly boat, the fixed keel is going to be a problem.

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CutOnce