Lost the Rudder!! Help!! F28

[FOXTWO]

Hey out there.....I am a new owner of a Freedom 28....it is a 1988 Hull 40..Love the way it sails and very pleased with all other aspects so far.................suffered a bit of bother on the weekend........lost the darn rudder.........did not hit anything.....just fell off due to corrosion .....weird.................everyone is fine and we are safely back at the slip.

I am beginning my search for new or used rudder and need to get the proper specs to match.......I have looked at all my documentation and have yet to find any info at all. This is the first Googled site and by seeing the posts, I feel this is the right spot to start............any and all suggestions are appreciated..........cheers

[THATBOATGUY]

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

I'm something of an expert on loosing rudders although I must say my episode did not end up happily. I've also built a rudder from scratch to replace one that was broken from the shaft on my Nimble 30 Yawl. In the case of the Nimble the rudder loss was due to Hurricane Opal and along with enough other damage to total the boat was the only way I could afford a boat like that at the time.

I believe you will be having a new rudder made rather than finding a used one that will work.

George

[GeoffSchultz]

What actually happened to the rudder? Did you lose the shaft or just the body?

-- Geoff

[FOXTWO]

We lost the body so we need to remove the shaft and have a new one (shaft and rudder) made. What I am hoping to find are drawings of an F28 that show me the rudder config, shape and angles required by a builder.

Derek

[hazmat]

Where are you located?

I have a Mull 28 in Newburyport, MA - she is going in the water this week, but if you are quick, you are welcome to take measurements. Unfortunately work commitments keep me from doing any detailed measurements for you.

[FOXTWO]

Thanx for the offer but I am in Austin.....any idea where I can find specs in documentation somewhere??

derek

[Tatoosh]

www.jefa.com might be helpful re: rudder shaft and internal supports for foam core. Good luck.

[FOXTWO]

Thanx Tatoosh

[MaloPoMalo]

Back in 1995 or so I became aware that this was a common problem for the F28 and the factory at that time was cooperating with repairing/replacing the outstanding rudders. -- Alan

Malo Po Malo F36 Lake Erie

[Wilfred934]

Sounds as if you need to make a new rudder from scratch? I had to make a new rudder for my F21 and did quite a bit of reading on the best aerofoil section to use and the information I found may be of use to you? You can get this information by going to the Freedom 21 site at http://freedom21.info/modifications.htm and bringing up the "Freedom21 Lifting Rudder Design" article. Although the details of making up a Freedom 21 lifting rudder do not concern you I am sure you will find the information summarised in Appendix 1 "Summary of Rudder Design/Performance Information" useful. If you are interested in the background information from the various references I located please get back to me and I can send you copies.

Wilf Bishop
F21 DAYDREAM
Ullswater Yacht Club - UK