Westerly 22 rudder design
Westerly 22 rudder design
In the spring of 2009 our Westerly 22 lost its rudder to drying out on a very uneven sandbank in very uneven weather. Luckily with the outboard is was still possible to steer her to the lift out position. At the spring lift out it was obvious even to an inexperienced sailer that a crucial part was missing. The steel rudder bar had also been eaten away over the years at the water line.
Welding a new rudder blade onto the existing rudder bar was unlikely to produce a a strong construction due to the lack proper access. It was decided the new rudder had to
- be a stainless steel construction
- be mountable in situ at the drying mooring
Being part of a fantastically supportive sailing community, a fellow sailer offered to get a new rudder designed and build. The following drawings were made by Terry McMennamim for which I am very greatful.
The design is such that the stainless steel rudder bar slides in from the top through the rudder blade mountings. The rudder is then fixed to the bar by tightening the clamp construction and inserting grub screws.
Drawings
Final result
The final construction looks like this.
