my yard destroyed my rudder and jammedmt tiller post with their liftstrap. they will pay for it if i can get a replacement made & rigged any advise & pictures will be greatly appreciated frank e wille:
my yard destroyed my rudder and jammedmt tiller post with their liftstrap. they will pay for it if i can get a replacement made & rigged any advise & pictures will be greatly appreciated frank e wille:
My understanding is that the Ariel/Commander and the Triton have the same rudder - if that might help.
I had mine made new out of mahogany by a wood working store, after a long search - using the old one as their model. It fit like a glove ($750). If you want the name of the facility, I can get it for you.
I had considered putting fiberglass over the old broken/somewhat rotten one but decided that fiberglass over wood is not a good combination for safety, or for long life. The wood rots at an accelerated rate if encapsulated in glass.
Are the rudder post, the shoe, the cap, the tiller and the bushing still in good order? Is there anything else, other than the rudder itself, that needs to be replaced? Keep in mind that the rudder needs to be super safe - you don't want to lose your rudder in rough weather.
Last edited by Theis; 12-08-2003 at 08:30 PM.
rudder shoe
I need a new rudder shoe also. When we hauled #350 and put her on the trailer, they blocked her up in the rear to remove the strap, and the shoe crumbled. I think it needed replacing regardless, as there seems to be a small ecosystem in there. Need all the advice I can get on replacing it. That was just the final mishap in this adventure. Smooth sailing from here on out!
Guess I better get busy and send in membership and order a manual--just as soon as I reocuperate from the ordeal of trailering her home 400 miles to Oregon. Think I better write a book. Luckily there was a diver in the mast unstepping crew to fetch my glasses. Didn't need the decompression chamber, only 50' or so to the bottom. What a weekend.
Happy Ariel in Oregon!
The manual includes tech drawings of the rudder shoe, shaft and bearing. We have also just acquired a supply of reproduction rudder tube bearings complete with "O" rings, but have not had time to list them on the home page.
Willie,
I'm curious. What kind of trailer did you have for your trip and what was the difference between your regular gas milage and the gas milage with boat and trailer.
Thanks, TP
The trailer I had made at Quality Trailers in Bellingham Wa. They have a web site-- qualitytrailers.com
Great to work with, did a super job. I supplied them with drawings of the boat, and it fit. $3300 with bow stop, 6 adj. pads, electric brakes, tandem axle. It was ready BEFORE the day I wanted it. Pulled so nice I almost forgot it was behind me. The trailer is very adjustable, you can even move the axles if needed to get the weight right, but we didn't have to do that. Figure we had about 200-300 lbs. tounge weight.
I was a little worried that I didn't have enough truck, it's a 1998 dodge 1500 quad cab 4x4 with the 318 gas, but it did fine. I didn't feel as if the tail was wagging the dog at any time. Most of the trip was freeway, so don't think my mileage was too much off normal. The last 80 miles is pretty hilly, so just took it easy, no problems. Stopped to check the pads and made sure everything was still where it was supposed to be once in awhile. Have some photos of us going on the ferry at Friday Harbor I'll figure out how to post. What an adventure! She sure is pretty sitting out here in the driveway. Feel free to e me.
wet willieave maria
The guy who is making a mold of the rudder shoe from the spec drawings and arranging to have it cast for me told me last week it should be done mid January. ( I told him I wasn't in any hurry and he took me literally). He isn't interested in setting up a production run- says it's more work than he wants to bother with. What I can do is make plaster duplicates of the shoe (once I have it) to be used to make casting molds and send them to whoever wants/needs one for them to take to their nearest foundry to get molds built and cast. I'm also considering talking to my local marine friendly foundry about doing a small production run once I have a shoe or duplicate to work from. It seems there is a growing demand for these things and if there is a source set up to make several it might be cheaper and certainly simpler to get a batch of them cast. Would greatly appreciate feedback regarding interest in this. The more that indicate interest the more likely I am to pursue it and it would be nice to have some idea how many to have cast.
Tom
You might want to talk to the folks at Port Townsend foundry in Port Townsend, WA. It's a small shop and might not be too far from where you are. They did good work for me and are very knowledgeable about marine castings. It think their principal line of business might be custom and small run castings.
They are at the top of my list. It's about an hour from me by land, day and a half by sea. (much preferrred but the weather leaves something to be desired this time of year)Will also talk with the people my mold maker is working with. When I know more I'll post it.
Tom
I contacted port townsend foundry last week, they said they could do the job from the drawings, or a mold would save time and $$. I just sent for the manual with drawings, and have some more coming. Maybe we can get a group discount from the foundry.
did they give you an estimate for doing it from the drawing versus having a model to make a mold from versus already having a mold? I agree about it possibly being cheaper to get several cast if enough people are interested but my toolmaker who is making my mold told me that setting up a production run of any size is considerably more complicated and doing it for just 10-20 castings would be expensive . I'll talk to them (PT foundry) as well. If they see an interest and demand for Ariel rudder shoes they might be more open to working out some kind of deal. Every one I have talked to locally has nothing but good things to say about the work they do and the people who work there. It also seems they are willing and able to make just about anything.
Tom
No estimate yet. Pete just said they could save time and $$ if they had a mold or old one to work with. Said they have some patterns, but didn't think they had the one for the Ariel/commander. Mine is in pieces and crumbs, so don't think it would be usable.
Sure wish I'd have been paying more attention to what they were doing to get the strap out from between the boat and trailer. Hard lesson learned. I think it probably needed replacing anyway, but I would have had something to work with.
I don't think the rudder is origional--seems to be mostly fiberglass, and light. In good shape from what I can tell. If it ever quits snowing I'd like to get to work on her.
My recollection of when Port Townsend did my work is that there little $$ in larger lots. These are sand castings. Preparing the mold and polishing are hand jobs, and to do two takes twice as long and uses twice as much material. The benefit to the group may not to make multiple quantities, but to have foundry that can make one/two - that is is ready to go with the mould and metal.
Incidentally, do some research on the metal. There are all sorts of compounds and mixtures, from potmetal to platinum. An experienced marine foundry will give you some alternatives.
Here is a copy of the portion of Alberg's lines drawing showing the dimensions for the rudder board. Note that the 22" measurement is for the alternative rudder Alberg added to the drawing.
I read somewhere in Sail Magazine How a world sailor whose father owned Wander Bird and started sailing with his father at
two years of age through Terra Del Fuego in the 1930s. Decided to use carbon fiber for the rudder post and rudder for his new boat. He checked out Bronze found the bearings wear out, plus electrolysis, plus needing realignment wood and fiberglas were not much better. He decided to go with carbon fiber. I think it also eliminates the electrolysis issue of the bronze post, and the bearings do not wear out or need realignment.
Captain John
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
