Rudder Head – Laser

Description

Rudder Head – Laser

The Laser rudder head is constructed of aluminum with stainless steel fittings which results in it being moderately priced, light, strong & durable.

It comes complete with a “MegaBolt”, rudder downhaul, rudder retaining ring & tiller retaining pin.

MegaBolt – When suitably tightened the ” MegaBolt” helps to stiffen the rudder head whilst holding the blade securely between the cheeks of the rudder head. This results in both positive steering plus the reassurance, when launching & recovering, that the blade will stay where you put it so reducing the risk of damage.
NB – Fully tightening the bolt results in a rudder with characteristics close to that of a fixed rudder.

Rudder downhaul – This is of pre-stretched polyester. Whilst we are very much in the “Dynema era” this is a a question of “horses for courses”. The advantage that polyester has over Dynema in this case is that it does stretch!
Once afloat & in the cockpit one can push the rudder blade fully down, ensure the downhaul line is correctly lead, the tiller is fully engaged in the rudder head & then apply maximum force to the downhaul line. This will cause the line to stretch & if lead through the tiller downhaul ClamCleat then one can achieve the tightest possible downhaul line. The elasticity of the line acting to maintain the line in the cleat, maintain the tiller securely in the rudder head & maintain a positive load on the downhaul line keeping the rudder blade in the fully down position.

Rudder retaining ring – Race organisers & most insurance companies now expect the rudder to be positively attached to the boat.
Race organisers: because a boat without a rudder ties up their support boats.
Insurance companies: because complete rudder assemblies are expensive to replace…

Tiller retaining pin – This, as its name suggests, retains the tiller in the rudder head. Surprisingly this is both good & bad!
Good: because it stops the tiller coming out of the rudder head which is important when leaving the shore or returning.
Bad: because it prevent the tiller “snugging” into the rudder head.
If a pin is not used then any wear allows the tiller to “snug” into the rudder head resulting in an almost perfect fit. However, if the pin is inserted then the pin acts to prevent the tiller “snugging” into the rudder head instead acting as a pivot so that any wear creates slack the result being the tiller bends the tiller hood making matters worse…
If a tiller retaining pin is deemed necessary then the solution is to cut a slot in the tiller so that the pin can prevent the tiller coming out whilst still allowing the tiller to “snug in”.

Maintenance – Rinse off with fresh water after use in salt water.