T&T: Articulating Flap Rudders (Was Following Seas)

[Ron Nelson]

Following seas on boats: sailboats have that full displacement rounded
hull allowing the water to flow around and under the hull, as do some
power boats; however, the rudder on a sailboat is significantly larger.  I
believe I've read here before that rudder size is also a factor in
handling following seas.  Could larger rudders be of benefit to power
boaters?  Thought I'd ask.


A possible solution I have been looking into is a different type rudder called
the articulating flap rudder.  Rather than trying to describe it, please refer
to the following web sites:

http://www.bayviewedisonindustries.com/products/rudder.html<http://www.bayvie
wedisonindustries.com/products/rudder.html>

http://www.rudderpower.com/products.html<http://www.rudderpower.com/products.
html>

The latest Passagemaker has an article of an articulating rudder installation
on a Nordic Tug 37 that is made by Bayview Edison that claims to make a very
positive improvement on boat handling but doesn't make any claims about boat
handling in a following sea.

I recently talked to Lowell Stamburgh of Deflector Marine and he has as wealth
of information about his rudders.  He claims that with his rudder and a fast
acting autopilot one will never know that they are in a following sea.
Basically he increases the rudder movement angle from the typical 70 degrees
to 90 degrees for slow maneuvering.  He talked about the fast acting autopilot
and said it is achieved by using a pump similar to an automobile power
steering pump connected to the engine.  I didn't totally understand all of
this or where one would get the parts to achieve this.  I was led to believe
that the current autopilots like Raymarine's could achieve this fast reaction
to boat movement if coupled to this powerful pump.  The articulating rudder
requires very little movement before a reaction occurs.

I wonder if anyone on the list has one of these installed?  If the claims are
correct, it should substitute for a stern thruster in docking situations.

Ron Nelson
Port Orchard, WA