Commander #256 (Ceili)

[ebb]

Chance, It's amazing and gratifying how we all approach things, and especially this rudder, from different angles.
I have stubby flat plates, forinstance, in three positions each welded into a narrow triangle that comes off a full length shaft from the back third of its circumference.

I'm making a constellation rudder like you are from the same palimpsest pattern Alberg drew on his original lines drawing. I think the only change I made was to tilt the bottom of the blade up an inch at the trailing edge. And I may have a smaller round than what the master has.

Will certainly have foil shape sides. But only half foil since the rudder's front half of the foil is the keel itself. To my way of thinking.
I'm also fattening up the rudder at the keelpost because I think the transition from the keel to the rudder should not step down, but be as fair as possible. That's a can of worms because the rudder shaft is set in to house the original 1" wide wooden rudder we had. A wider rudder can't turn to the angles we need, not only for steering, but to move and remount the rudder when needed.
So while there won't be a step, there will be a space to allow the wide turning angle.

My method was/is to have a center plate of fiberglass laminate that is the shape of the finished rudder in profile. Then I intend to add divinycell foam to the sides of that panel - carve and shape the foil and cover with plain or fancy (kevlar) cloth. Will have to take a couple turns around the shaft to encapsulate. But don't expect water intrusion to ever become a problem.

One of the most clever ideas I've ever seen for insuring that the halves of a rudder stay together was to drill strategic holes thru the blade with a HOLESAW. Then fiberglass thru the holes with fabric strips opposite skin to opposite skin, glue back the doughnut, fair it, and finish with a last layer of glass.
Do this in way of the armature and the rudder will never fail!

Intend to take my trailing edge back to a 1/4" thickness, about the thickness of the center plate, and square it off sharply to break suction.
That long STRAIGHT edge of this style rudder compared with the rounded sure is intriguing, isn't it?

Don't know of anybody who sails a Commander or Areil with one. It's about time! CAN'T WAIT!!!!