Kick-Up Rudder(1987)
By Dale Mack
November 6, 2001

When my wife and I purchased the boat, the kick-up rudder appealed to us because we'd be doing a lot of river sailing and should we strike something, the rudder would lift out of the way. Although our swing keel extends below the surface further when fully down, the kick-up rudder has proven itself a good investment when motoring in murky delta water with the keel up.

The lower portion of the rudder's blade pivots on a bolt that passes through the aluminum pressure plates. A handle, which serves as the nut for the bolt, is used to apply and release pressure on the blade. To aid in holding the blade up, a small line passes through the blade and is run to a small cleat.

We launch and recover our boat with the rudder on and swung up. Once in the water, we release the line to the cleat, loosen the handle and press on the aft edge of the blade until if fully swings down, then we tighten the handle.  A combination of the friction produced between the two aluminum plates and the engagement of a metal rivet in the fiberglass section with a hole in one of the plates  keeps everything in place.   I've read comments by others that after several years, tightening the handle no longer produces sufficient friction to keep the blade down, I'd recommend checking whether the rivet has worn a grove in the aluminum plate. To raise the blade, we loosen the handle and pull on the small line attached to the blade. Once up (the blade can be raised to a horizontal position), we cleat off the line and tighten the handle. We've also found the kick-up rudder handy when we're anchored or docked with our stern toward the shore (i.e. shallow water).

The kick-up rudder has worked well for us. One modification I made after our first outing with the boat was to drill a hole through the end of the handle and attach a lanyard to the handle and the rudder. I was motivated to make this modification after I accidentally loosened the handle too much and had it come off in my hand. Not wanted to risk loosing the handle in the water, I devised the solution shown in the picture.

One additional feature of the rudder is the spring tang, designed to keep the rudder from coming off. My only complaint with the system, is the ease at which the tang can pinch your fingers when removing the rudder. The act of pulling the tang aft while lifting the rudder so the rudder's pintles can clear the gudgeons deserves an elegant solution that protects one's fingers.