self kick up rudder

[HamptonMorgan22]

Is there such thing? Forgive my ignorance I am new to sailing. I have a transom mounted rudder pintle gudgeon attachment. I can find info, and Im sure i could modify mine to kick up manually, but is there such rudder or hardware to make one that would kick up with the force of hitting something? I dock my boat at a real shallow dock and would love the security of something like that, rather then having to take it off before approach to my dock, and its a 22ft boat, i have found some for small dingies and cats and stuff, but nothing for larger. I was hoping there was something like that out there. Hopefully hardware I love the way my rudder works hate to screw it up, and I really hate to try to put my math skills to work trying to figure out how to make one that will hold up to the forces of sailing but kick up on the force of impact. thanks

[chucklesR]

My buddies 22 ft catalina, 1976 had a kick up rudder. Sure they make them. Google it up and the search is on

[twcook]

Hunter 22s have a self kick up rudder like what you describe. You might be able to find one of those to study or copy. It uses a line and a cam to hold in position, and according to the owner reviews I've read some people have augmented that with a wooden dowel as sort of a shear pin to make it stiffer. I don't recall seeing any drawings but there is at least some discussion on Hunter Owners.com for owners sailing production sailboats under the owner reviews section. If you get really serious about it, our Sea Scouts have one, I can probably go take a photo or two of it. It's a new boat to us so we don't yet have much experience with it; as yet nobody has run into anything so as to need it.

[sailingdog]

My boat has a kickup rudder that actually steers in the kicked up position. Idasailor.com makes kickup rudders to fit a lot of different boats.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by HamptonMorgan22

...
I was hoping there was something like that out there. Hopefully hardware I love the way my rudder works hate to screw it up, and I really hate to try to put my math skills to work trying to figure out how to make one that will hold up to the forces of sailing but kick up on the force of impact. thanks

(Emphasis mine) - and therein lies the problem. The most common way to overcome this is to use shock-cord tension to determine the difference between striking something hard and normal sailing.

The trouble is that, over time, the shock-cord doesn't hold it's tension when sailing in a heavy sea and the rudder pops up at the least opportune time.

For a boat larger than a dinghy, the only systems I've seen that work reliably use a shear-pin arrangement (usually a small dowel) - ours uses a stopper with a "weak link" - but they are only intended to be used when you forget to raise the rudder in time to stop you doing too much damage.

[sailingdog]

The rudder on my boat uses a line clutch that is "rigged" to prevent it from locking down completely, so the rudder downhaul line can pull free if the rudder needs to kick up. Yet the rudder stays down in 9-12' seas with 30 knots of wind and gusts up to 40 knots. However, it kicks up just fine if the rudder hits anything solid.

[Hartley18]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

The rudder on my boat uses a line clutch that is "rigged" to prevent it from locking down completely, so the rudder downhaul line can pull free if the rudder needs to kick up. Yet the rudder stays down in 9-12' seas with 30 knots of wind and gusts up to 40 knots. However, it kicks up just fine if the rudder hits anything solid.

Can you post a pic of your setup, SD?? Mine pops up and stays up so it's made the list of Winter projects..

[sailingdog]

Hartley-

Will try to remember to take some photos when i'm at the boat this week.

[Triquetra]

I have a kick-up rudder and have made good use of it at my shallow marina, but when it kicks up fully, I have little steering. So, I try to anticipate how much the rudder should kick up yet provide steering and I adjust the line in the cam to get to that point before docking. I find that this keeps the excitement of sailing centered around sailing rather than docking.

[LakeEscape]

Here's a link to get the info for the system I put on my San Juan. SJ23 Tech Tips provide a wealth of info that works for many boats in that size range.

SJ23 Tech Tip B10 - Rudder Blade Keeping it Locked Down and on the Transom

Fair Winds

LakeEscape
On Lake Norman
Charlotte, NC