J22 Fleet 63

Rumper – Protection for your Rudder July 22, 2009

I posted this on Twitter several weeks ago, for those that don’t follow that stuff check this out.

My boat hangs on a lift over  the water most of the time as many others do. I am near the end of the pier system so I seem to pick up more boat dings from fishing boats and new sailors than others.  One day I got a huge ding, gouge and I was… livid, as anyone else would be if they had paid good money for a great fairing  job or spent time doing it themselves.  So I went on a mission to find something to protect my rudder’s trailing edge.  Barbed wire and small mines were overruled by the JYC harbor committee as they believe this would be too aggressive.

So I went to Walmart and purchased a toy pool noodle for $2.  I also bought some small line to attach it.  The key here is to buy the noodle with a hole through the center of it.  Use a sharp knife or razor and slice straight down one side of the noodle to the center hole to split the noodle open.  Don’t worry if you aren’t exactly straight with your cut, it will work anyway.   Now punch a couple of holes between the back edge of the center hole and the new aft edge of the Rumper to thread the line through. You’ll need 2 pieces of line about 18-24″ long for this.  Punch one through up high above the waterline on the rudder near the head, and one down low to hold the bottom part of the Rumper.

To attach, first slide the Rumper onto the top of the trailing edge of the rudder. Tie the first line (at the bottom of the Rumper) around the rudder blade loosely so it can slide down.  Now get your tiller extension.  As you push the Rumper down the trailing edge it will try to slide off, use the grip end of the tiller extension to lightly tap the Rumper back in place and keep sliding it down until you reach the bottom of the rudder.  (This is really easier than it sounds.)  Tie off the top of the Rumper to the rudder head and you’re done.

Tips:

1. Make sure the rudder is out of the water when installing and removing.  The Rumper is really buoyant.
2. After you have positioned the line in the Rumper, tie small stopper knots on either side of the Rumper to make it difficult for “boat guests” to pull out the line or you’ll have to re-thread.
3. When removing, untie the top line first. Then just push the whole Rumper off  the bottom of the rudder. Use the tiller extension to help push down the line at the bottom as it will try to bind. No need to have crew hold you by your feet while you untie it.
4. If the boat feels sluggish on the first beat, make sure you have removed the Rumper.