c26- rudder floats and wont go down in the water lol

[aerojet777]

i found this very frustrating. the rudder on my c26 floats so when i pull the chord it refuses to go down. i had to push the rudder down with a long pvc pipe then tie a knot on the tiller rope to hold it.

any thoughts on why i cant pull the rope to force the rudder down, it feels like there is not enough leverage to force it down since the rudder floats.

[CaptainScott]

You could put a little "T" handle on the end of the rope to assist in pulling it so the rudder goes down.

On my tiller I put a jam cleat to hold the tiller rope. I also added a small standard cleat to tie off the rudder rope to help hld it up while being trailered.

Scott

[EmergencyExit]

They aren't easy to get down is best of situations, but a couple things to check (unfortunately both out of the water)

1. Make sure the pivot bolt on the rudder cheek isn't too tight (I use a Nylock there so I know it won't come loose when lightly tightened.

2. The routing path of the lines is going right around the roller.

3. The lines aren't too big. There's not a lot of space for them to turn up into the tube. EE had big 1/2" lines (easier to grip) and they just rubbed each other to the point they jammed up.

4. Embrace your friend the push pole. be the pole !

You will have to either tie the line to the tiller or cleat it. Force of water moving past will push it back up if you don't.

[CraigWik]

I had the same problem yesterday after re-installing the original kick-up rudder on my C-26. It wouldn't go down when pulling on the "down" line. I could force it down with a boat hook, and then cleat it (with the clam cleat I installed on the tiller).

The bolt isn't too tight through the cheek plates. The line is brand new, just over 3/8", braid-on-braid polyester. It's pretty soft, and makes a very sharp bend around the 1/4" clevis pin below the rudder tube. The line is forward of the clevis pin, as the manual says to route it.

You mentioned a roller. Do you have a sleeve of some kind around the clevis pin, or some other arrangement to reduce rope friction?

Thanks,

Craig

[EmergencyExit]

I have a roller over that clevis pin, yes. Having it there makes the turn upwards not quite so sharp a bend and reduces friction. What I did was find a plastic spacer the pin fit into, then found another that the first one would slide into, etc. Wound up at about an inch size roller..even at best its not that smooth a pull since you are pulling forward more than up until the rudder gets going

[Dayenu]

Same problem here...

I was thinking of routering out a space along the side of the rudder nearest the bottom. Placing the rudder in our hot tub and adding lead weights so get a more neutral buoyancy, then taking the lead and pouring it into the routered out space, then covering up with west and micro balloons/high density adhesive filler putty mix and then sanding it out to fair it smooth again.

Not worried about the weight during towing as I use a ratchet strap to hold it up while on the trailer.

Thoughts?

PS: all the above possible problems/solutions have been examined and changed to help alleviate the problem... bottom line is the rudder floats I imagine during the designing stages the thought was that a heavy rudder would be harder to pull up than to pull down. I'm just hoping for a neutral buoyancy leaning a little bit on floating...

Richard

[CraigWik]

I couldn't find any plastic sleeves or rollers the right size. So I ended up making a roller out of wood. I used lignum vitae, because it is very dense and oily. Got a small piece for a few dollars from the local Woodcraft woodworking store. Cut a plug (roller) out of the wood using a hole saw. Cut the roller to the right length to fit loosely between the cheek plates. Then drilled the center hole a little bit larger than what the hole saw guide drill did. The roller worked well. It still takes kind of a hard yank on the line to get the rudder to go down, but at least I can do it now without using a boat hook to push on it. Thanks to EE for the tip about the roller!!

Craig

[windnutlarry]

How about just drilling a couple holes in the trailing edge and filling them with lead shot until negative bouyancy is reached? Many skeet clubs sell recovered shot for a dollar or so a pound, and the holes could be easily sealed with epoxy. Two or three pounds would probably make a huge difference.