Regarding rudders and drag and other phenomena they engender, I am surprised that our designer gurus like Matt Broze and John Winters have taken such an aversion to them instead of working on re-design. They have somehow missed a simple modification that will make any rudder work better and eliminate many of the detrimental physical phenomena associated with rudders. The solution is easy: cut holes in the rudder. Ideally the holes should cover about 50% of the surface of the rudder; holes about 3 cm. in diameter are best. Make certain to leave at least a centimeter between holes in order not to weaken the rudder. And don't place any hole closer than about a centimeter from the edges of the rudder. Round holes are better than squared off ones as they are more aesthetically pleasing. Holes in a rudder cut down on drag significantly, so much so that you hardly know you have a rudder...believe me. They also lighten the rudder greatly and ease the problem of proper boat trim that Matt Broze is always carrying on about. BTW, the origins of this modification come from Switzerland. This is such a good idea that I relinguish copywrite provisions, i.e. feel free to use it. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Oct 06 1999 - 12:01:49 PDT
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