Ed,
Yes, you certainly will want to devise a way to keep the rudder from
floating up.
The closer to vertical the rudder is, the less helm you will have and the
faster you will go. Handling and speed are both improved by having the
rudder closer to vertical.
At several North American championships, top sailors have been caught by the
class measurer with a rudder that was just 1 or 2 degrees closer to vertical
than was allowed. It makes a difference!
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From: "Ed" <conley49@...>
Since I am picking brains here.... On my "Fish-clone" the rudder is
pinned so that if I should hit something it would rise up and not
allow damage. This pin also has the effect of allowing the rudder to
rise partially out of the water while sailing at faster speeds. I
noticed that the Vanguard Sunfish parts locator has a detail of the
rudder showing a tension spring. I would guess that this provides
fource that keeps the rudder in the water at speed but allow movement
should the rudder imapact something. Alaso this same diagram shows
the rudder to have about a 30 degree rake. My "Fish-clone" has 0
degree rake at rest but I would guess about 45 to 60 under fast sail.
With no local "Fish" to compare notes with I have no framework to
judge my obsevations. Do you have any idea if I should be seeking to
limit my under sail rake of my rudder?
