A very stiff layup of s-glass over sitka spruce, with a drag reducing
planform. Thickness and layup can be adjusted to your individual
needs.
The one at right was done with a graphite finish - translucent in the blade, and
more graphite added in the head area where you want its friction reducing
capabilities. This board, going into a Woof in the UK, uses the full class
maximum of 30mm max thickness:
It
arrived yesturday, but it wasn't until this morning that I got to open the
package. The board looks great. I can't wait to try it in my boat. the finish
is great, feels perfect.
Richard
Validation of the shape and stiffness of this centerboard design came with a 2nd
place at the 2003 Albacore Internationals:
"The
2003 Internationals went very well for us. Jeff and I had raced the Albacore in
the Ontario Championships earlier in the 2003 season and although we did well,
we did not have the pointing advantage that we usually enjoy. In the past we
have made foils ourselves, but we don’t have a lot of time to do the manual
route (accuracy also suffers). Also we seem to have trouble finding people that
can program their CNC routers or machinery to handle the foils sections that we
need.... We did some searching online and found you last summer. At the
Internationals our upwind speed and pointing was exceptional, we were very
pleased with the centerboard that Jeff purchased for the event."
Design: ALB02CB
Molded Centerboard
A quality molded product at a more affordable price point. Shown
at right is the first one out of the mold. The mold was cast from a
CNC-shaped plug, for maximum accuracy of shape.
28mm max thickness, to fit most boats. Please check your
centerboard trunk before ordering.
Use of honeycomb in the CNC-shaped core provides the necessary compressive strength.
A basic rectangular blade, with external dimensions based on those
rudders being shipped with new boats. Nothing fancy, but it
will get you around the race course.
Available fixed, or for kickup head (send details of your current
headstock).
A fairly conservative entry into higher aspect ratio rudders, this
blade gives an additional 10 sq inches of wetted area (boat control!) in a
more efficient package. The elliptical leading edge and
narrowed reduced thickness at the waterline make this a low drag blade
that will be sure to please. And its light too!
Available for fixed or kickup head.
Since this first one was made, a slight curve has been added to the tip
based on feedback from the demonstration rudder.
Sitka spruce, with a fiberglass laminate (s-glass buildup at the
waterline!)
The prototype blade, shown at right, has red cedar spliced in to the
tip. Its went on tour summer 2003 to gather feedback (see bottom of
page).
A customer from the UK had this to say: "Tried
the rudder out yesterday for first time (wind
started out as a F3 building up to the top of a F4) seems very nice
so long as we kept the boat flat will give some more feedback after
used it a bit more. Cheers, Alex"
Here's how the two blades compare:
Albacore Gallery
The 2003 Internationals in nearby Kingston made for a number of
centerboard requests - here are four in various states of progress:
For something different, this customer wanted a 30mm thick board with a
1/8" thick trailing edge... and a gybing head. Later we may put
cheeks on the head to convert it to non-gybing, so it will measure
in. If you want it, I'll build it!
ALB02R in a white Awlgrip paintjob.
ALB02R updated design (curved tip) in a customer-supplied
kickup headstock.
A custom version of ALB01CB to suit a 1967 McGruer &
Clark hull - the head had to be reshaped somewhat to fit the trunk, and
the board was thinner than typical.
I used it for three days and 8 races in the Canadian Championship. I have
to say that I liked it. A lot of people at the regatta came over to see it
(and were quite intrigued not to mention impressed at how I walked away on
planing reaches 100% of the time while constantly and effortlessly changing
direction to catch waves)
Here are my thoughts:
I think that it should be a bit thicker. The thickest part of the blade
should be as thick as the “head”. A thicker blade would steer the boat
that much better while not adding much in the way of increased drag. I did
manage to stall the rudder (although it was during low speed manoeuvring at the
start line). Anything to increase the stall tolerance would help.
[PHIL: the max thickness on the blade actually is 25mm,
same as the head thickness. Hi Aspect blades do tend to stall if you
try to scull with them]
Also I think you should do away with the flat surface
at the bottom of the blade. The rudder constantly twitched while the boat
was underway and I can’t help but think that had something to do with it. [PHIL: the theory behind squared off
tips is that they'll stall before the whole blade does, giving you some
warning. Based on Henry's feedback the design has been modified to a
curved tip.]
Otherwise I have nothing but good things to say about it. It steers the
boat well, and I like the absence of large surface wake. Plus it’s nice
and light –weighs a lot less than my other rudder.
