oversize rudder

[martinworswick]

hi,

i have a pelin cherry 16 that i've been fixing up,its almost ready to go back on the water.

it was missing its original rudder when i first got it, i was going to make another one but a friend had a spare from an old boat which he's given to me.

it's quite a bit bigger than the original in thickness, maybe 60mm thick instead of +-25mm.the "nose to tail"length is similar

i've read threads asking similar questions but a lot of the information i don't yet understand but i think the only real difference in using this rudder would be the amount of drag.
is this correct or have i missed something important?

cheers
martin

[PAR]

Considering the design of your little sailboat (you've been at it for a while now), the rudder thickness will not affect the sailing attributes too much. From a technical stand point it will be more "draggy", but if it's shaped well, not too bad. If you can make it work, to get out on the water and enjoy this on going project, then go for it. In short, your boat is not going to capsize, drive like a 3 wheeled truck or anything else that might be weird, just because of a thick rudder blade.

[martinworswick]

Originally Posted by PAR

Considering the design of your little sailboat (you've been at it for a while now), the rudder thickness will not affect the sailing attributes too much. From a technical stand point it will be more "draggy", but if it's shaped well, not too bad. If you can make it work, to get out on the water and enjoy this on going project, then go for it. In short, your boat is not going to capsize, drive like a 3 wheeled truck or anything else that might be weird, just because of a thick rudder blade.

thanks for the reply,
progress has been a wee bit slow,mainly due to winter temperatures,i basically did nothing because my epoxy says not to use it below 6C,trying to look after an 18 month old boy and use epoxy at the same time didn't work as well as i hoped it might either
anyway,with the arrival of spring progress is coming along and i hope to be on the water in a few weeks.
cheers again
martin