Toe'd in Rudders ?

pworthington · Post by **pworthington** » September 1st, 2007, 8:15 pm

My 1983 SC 17 has toe'd in rudders. The cross beam connecting the two tiller's is not original. Should the rudders be parallel? Seems like they should be? What was the original material and O/D for the crossbeam?Thanks.

jjd78 · Post by **jjd78** » September 4th, 2007, 4:40 pm

hey i just bought a new cross bar from Aquarius and it only cost me around 100.00... not bad if you ask me..... I sail with between 1/8 to 1/4 inch of toe in... also if you have slop in your rudders that also puts strain on the helm so add shims, make sure those lines are good and not falling apart... no slop in the rudder while inthe down position and if all of this is done you should have slight helm and you'll have more helm the harder you sheet in upwind... show us some pics of your boat.....

Post by **Matt Haberman** » September 4th, 2007, 8:56 pm

The rudders should be toe'd in approx 1/16, a 1/4" is pretty extreme and is only helping to induce drag.
jjd78 is right about shimming the rudders too, if you can get rid of the slop in the down position along with proper toe-in, the feel of the helm will probably improve.
I don't have the cost on a new tiller x-bar in front of me right now, but if you call the office at 651-462-SAIL they can get you a price.

pworthington · Post by **pworthington** » September 5th, 2007, 7:32 pm

Where do you measure toe-in from? While the rudder is up or down? Thanks for your help

Post by **Matt Haberman** » September 8th, 2007, 8:54 am

I would suggest measuring the toe in with the rudders in the down position as this is the way you sail the boat. The simplest way to measure toe-in is going to require two people. Measure between the centerline of both rudders on the leading edge and make a note of the measurement you get. Then measure between the centerline of both rudders at the trailing edge. The difference between the two measurements are your toe-in or toe-out depending on which number is smaller.

If you cannot do it with the rudders down you can also do it with the rudders up by measuring the distance between the trailing edges at two locations, one near the rudder head and the other near the bottom or tip of the rudder.

Kevin Keller · Post by **Kevin Keller** » October 25th, 2007, 11:59 am

Is the 1/16" toe in the same on the SC-20?

Post by **Matt Haberman** » October 25th, 2007, 12:18 pm

Yes,
You can use the same measurement.