Author Topic: fin/rudder  (Read 1978 times)

55NSup

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fin/rudder
« on: November 24, 2014, 02:05:05 AM »
How about a fin like this ?
Wont break off if you hit something, will still work if your steering system breaks, fits a modified standard box.

TN_SUP

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Re: fin/rudder
« Reply #1 on: November 24, 2014, 06:51:45 AM »
Is that enough surface area to change the direction of the board in bumpy conditions?

'13 SB Sprint, '15 SIC X-14 ProLite, RH Coastal Cruiser, Think EZE Ski, Kenalu Konihi 84  & Mana

headmount

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Re: fin/rudder
« Reply #2 on: November 24, 2014, 11:01:08 PM »
From my experience here on Maui I'd say not enough area.  There are times when my rudder peddle is pegged to the max in one direction and sometimes that isn't even enough.  Maybe with a smaller board but not a 16 or 17. 

Ocean canoes use full rudder steering and they've been around a lot longer than SUPs.  If less area would have worked, these guys would have figured it out.  They're much more obsessed than us stand up guys.

The best control I've felt was with PBill's remote rudder control.  No foot pressure involved and very strong response.  Hate being married to the mechanical rudder peddle.

Area 10

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Re: fin/rudderu
« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2014, 11:45:23 PM »
Yes, too little area to effect steering. But the idea of having a fixed fin box that can also take a rudder is a good one. Here's a suggestion: one of the main drawbacks of rudders is that they pick up weed and debris in the sea in a way that a weedless type fixed fin won't. So maybe try to alleviate this issue by incorporating small deflector fin type arrangement at the leading edge of the fin. Ocean kayaks with rudders sometimes use small aftermarket rubber stick-on "fins" for this purpose, but I saw an arrangement that Craig Richmond created for a board that had both a rudder and a fixed box option and there you could slot in a small fin in the fixed fin box that was placed ahead of the main rudder and served partly to offer directional control but also to deflect weed etc from the larger rudder behind. It worked quite well so when I put a finbox in my Naish 17 I placed it ahead of the rudder so that I could do this too.

If you live in a part of the world where balls of kelp (or what we call seaweed) are common, and you encounter one of these at full speed on a downwinder, it can destroy your rudder completely leaving you essentially stranded out to sea. So if you can, I'd suggest to give your fin a bit more rake, and ideally there would perhaps be a tiny set of 3 fins sitting in parallel in front of the leading edge of the rudder whose purpose was to deflect stuff away from the base of the rudder, for the full range of it's movement. Just a thought.

55NSup

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Re: fin/rudder
« Reply #4 on: November 25, 2014, 12:59:33 PM »
I'll make a new sketch that adresses the feedback.

 


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