[Bene505]

I don't think I've mentioned it before here, but I love to invent things. I'm working on something new that I think no one has done before. I must make sure to NOT go into any details on a public forum, so let me provide some information which reveals nothing of the design or anything.

• This would be an emergency rudder that can go easily from one boat to another.
• It would not need to be permanently mounted.
• It would not need permanently-attached mounting brackets.
• It would be bought for less than $400, stored onboard, and easily used when needed.
• It would be very compact for storage.
• It would have sufficient force to overcome the effect of your normal rudder, if that was stuck to one side.

Would there be a strong need for this product?

Regards

 

[Bene505]

Hm. Could it "overcome" the drag involved in such a scenario. My guess is that your design will involve the use of eccentric drag to create a turning moment on the boat. Drag from stuck rudder + drag from Bene505Rudder + decreased inboard prop performance due to stuck rudder = too much drag methinks.

My suggestion is, before you get too concerned about your potential market, build a prototype (your wording hints that you have not yet done so), lash your tiller, and see how your boat performs with your emergency rudder. Then come back and say, "Adam, you were way off base. The boat goes even faster than before," so that I can stand corrected.

At that point I don't think you'll have too much of a problem with marketing.

Adam,

It would go slower, since there'd be two rudders, each acting in opposite directions, but it would still make headway and make the boat steerable.
Does anyone know if rudders get stuck fully deflected usually? (I'm thinking sliding down the face of a wave or hitting something. There must be more examples. Come to think of it, I ought to call the guy who drifted for 40 days southeast of Bermuda.)

 

[Bene505]

and if it does everything you say I'll show you da money.

How about that. Sounds to good to be true

Fair Winds

Dave

That's good advice. Thanks.

Smack -- you too. Thanks for the advice. I will have one to test with you when you visit in June.

Any other feedback?

 

[Bene505]

It sounds like a reasonable idea. As you know, the total market for sailboats is sadly quite small, so you should not expect gigantic volume or economies of scale. Would it be designed for a particular range of boat sizes?

A bigger boat with a fully deflected stuck rudder would require a certain size. It's probably better to offer a smaller one to people with smaller boats. Although the bigger one will certainly work. If the testing or customer feedback says to have more sizes, that's what there will be.

 

[Bene505]

Frog Prints Emergency Rudder Test on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Make it out of an old sail. Extremely compact and easy to do. Stowes easily. The hardest thing is going to make it big enough to overpower the original rudder. I just don't see that being feasible.

Thanks for posting that. The new one is different.

 

[Bene505]

Dude are we going to get to test this thing on our upcoming BFS?

Of course!

Speaking of which, we have to remind people to block off June 19th for the Smack-the-daddy dinner on Long Island. (And we need to pick a place. The place last time was good.)

 

[Bene505]

Quick update...

I mentioned somewhere that I did a patent search on all US patents with the words "rudder" and "sailboat" in the abstract of the patent. I've now made it part way through the patent search with the words "rudder" and "boat" in the abstract of the patent. So far so good. I may have a unique device here. I will have the rest of the US "rudder" and "boat" searches done in the next 6 days. After that I need to start thinking about other countries -- probably need to talk with my patent attorney.

I will build a very scaled-down model and complete some initial testing before Monday. I'll keep you posted.