Fitting an endplate to a rudder seems to get low priority, so in the hurry of a haul-out, the job tends to be skipped.

The (only) way to get that job done is to have the fin, or fins ready, epoxied and painted, ready for installation at  next occasion. I am actually planning that for Ingeborg, to be installed at next haul-out.

Arne

PS: I jumped to here from this thread : 

https://junkrigassociation.org/yachtclubbar/778436

I am finding this thread very helpful.  I have discussed my own rudder issues in the "whip staff" thread (below).  I am now going to amend my own rudder, glossing an 8 inch deep stub to its bottom, with an end-plate as well.  I hope (expect?) that this will give the rudder a bit more bite - less weather helm, better downwind control, faster tacking.  There's not too much wrong with it already - the boat has never failed to tack, despite some very lazy helming at times.  But the rudder could do with a wee bit more bite.  I hope it works.  I will know next summer.  If it does not work-out,then I will put a rudder on the transom, with a tiller. -  she'll-steering does not impress me at all, but - at least for the meantime I will put up with it, and live in hope that an 8-inch extension and end-plate improves things adequately.  And man thanks to all those who have contributed expert opinion on the matter!

David Tyler wrote:

Peter Scandling wrote:

At the risk of hijacking this thread..... I'm about to replace the rudder on Tara (K26)  I intend to move the rudder to the transom, and completely discard the barn door that currently exists.  

Perhaps there might be some suggestion as to what I replace it with..

all thoughts welcome... 

Peter

I found this comment about the K26 on the ybw.com forum:

"Just one thing that has not been mentioned yet. These boats are liable to have dangerous arm wrenching weather helm, which can be mitigated by reefing early."

Is a new rudder going to fix this problem, or is it inherent in the hull design, I wonder?

I can't find any K26 drawings, are there any, or any profile and end-on photos?

Peter

Asmat Downey wrote:

Peter,

I was nearing completion of converting my K26 'Antares' with an Arne style cambered sail when I learned that a sister, 'Chopsticks' had just been fitted with a Scanes built cambered sail and was found to have severe weather helm. With this in mind, I fitted end plates projecting about 6 inches to both the skeg and the rudder and was happy to find that there was no more weather helm on any point of sail than there had been under her bermudan rig, except when over-canvassed. Dropping a single panel of her 370 sq ft sail cured this.

I suggest that before going to the trouble of making a new rudder, you try end plates, a simple job that took me less than a single day. Mine were made out of scrap ply, encapsulated in multiple layers of epoxy and glass. 

Asmat

Thanks for your input.  I'm actually persuaded to go for a transom hung rudder for 2 reasons..... improve performance and remove the tiller from the cockpit.

Peter

Endplates and anti-air-bubbles-getting-in-the-way plates are worthwhile low-budget things to try. I'm for them. I could write more authoritatively if I could ever limit myself to making only one change at a time.

But even with allowances for the human tendency to love the results of a project just because it's finished and irreversible...

mehitabel's final rudder, with both a sacrificial bottom endplate and a top anti-a-b-g-i-t-w plate, works so much better than the previous (okay, slightly smaller & overbalanced) prototype rudder, that I'm convinced.

The said prototype proved the worth of moving a rudder aft, and (to admit another inevitable concomitant change) of a spade planform over a skeg-obstructed one, assuming steering is the main thing, not whale impact or grounding.

(I used 'concomitant' for effect. If I'm less than rigorous in practice, I can at least enjoy sounding technical.)

Any endplate is enough better than none, that how much is like peanut butter in a sandwich.

Cheers, Kurt