Twist and stow rudder

Abstract

A retraction system for rudders for small boats having a deck comprising a ruddermeans connecting said rudder to the rear of a boat enabling said rudder to pivot on an axis such that when the rudder is retracted, it rotates upwardly through about 270° from the normal operating position in the water while twisting about 90° so as to lay essentially flat on said deck.

Description

THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of the rudder assembly in the down position with the rudder in the water on a typical kayak.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the rudder assembly in the down position on a typical kayak.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of the rudder assembly going through the full motion from down position or operation position to the up or retracted position.

FIG. 4 shows the up and down control lines wrapping around the quadrant.

FIG. 5 shows the steering lines going to the steering handle lever and the up/down lines going to the up/down control lever.

FIG. 6 shows the hook engaging the detent to keep the rudder from rotating up under side loads and FIG. 6A shows these parts shortly after disengagement. More particularly,

FIG. 6 shows the following:

• • 1. A partial side view of the hull, rudder, rudder head, rudder mount.
  • 2. A section taken along the line E-E in 1 to show the engagement of the hook on the rudder mount and detent on the rudder head.
  • 3. A section taken at F in 2 showing an enlargement of the hook and detent as engaged.
  • 4. A side view of a small boat with the retraction system at A, the rudder being directly down in the water.

FIG. 6A depicts the same parts and views as FIG. 6, showing, however, the hook and detent shortly after disengagement and the beginning of the rotation of the rudder so that the leading edge of the rudder is starting to move away from the hull.

FIG. 7 shows the exploded view of the parts in the rudder assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Considering the drawings in more detail, the rudder mount 1 is pinned to the hull 2 with pin 5. The rudder head 3 is pivotally bolted to the rudder mount 1 with bolt 6. The rudder blade 4 is fastened to the rudder head 3 with six 10-32 screws 7 and six 10-32 lock nuts 8.

The rudder mount 1 is free to pivot on the transom 25 of the hull 2. The left steering line 13 exits the hull 2 and passes through a hole through the center of bolt 6. The left steering line 13 is then clamped under the 10-32 screw 11. The right steering line 14 exits the hull 2 at small hole 26 and passes through a hole in the rudder mount 1 and is clamped under the 10-32 screw 12.

The forward end of the left steering line 13 attaches to the right hand end of the steering control lever 17. The forward end of the right steering line 14 attaches to the left hand end of the steering control lever 17. Turning the steering handle 18 adjacent cockpit 29 to the right will rotate the rudder to the left which will turn the boat to the right.

The trim of the rudder and the tension in the steering lines 13 and 14 can be adjusted with these screws 11 and 12. The lines 13 and 14 should be adjusted so that the rudder blade 4 is pointed straight ahead when the steering handle 18 is in the middle of its travel. The tension in the lines 13 and 14 should be adjusted so they are tight enough so that there is no play, but not so tight that there is excessive friction in the system.

The up control line 15 exits the transom of hull 2 and passes through two small holes in the rudder mount 1. After the second hole it goes up and around the quadrant 30 on the rudder head 3. The line passes through a small hole 21 in the rudder head 3 and then it is clamped under the 10-32 screw 9. The down control line 16 exits the transom of hull 2 and passes through the same two holes in the rudder mount 1. After the second hole it goes down and around the quadrant 30 on the rudder head 3. The line goes through the small hole 22 on the rudder head 3 and it is clamped under 10-32 screw 22.

The forward end of the down control line 16 goes forward and around the cheek block 23 and back to the up/down control lever 19 so that when the up/down control lever 19 adjacent cockpit 29 is moved forward the rudder goes down. The up control line 15 goes forward directly to the up/down control lever 19.

FIG. 3 shows the rudder blade 4 as it rotates upwardly starting at the normal down or vertical position in the water at the rear of hull 2. As shown in FIG. 3, as the rudder blade 4 moves upwardly through 270°, from positions A through E, simultaneously the rudder blade 4 rotates through 90° so that the rudder blade 4 lays flat on the deck or top surface 10 of hull 2.

The tension in the up/down control lines 15 and 16 can be adjusted with the screws 9 and 10. The tension in the down control line 16 should be adjusted so that when the rudder is in the down position and up/down control handle 20 adjacent cockpit 29 is in the forward position there should be about 5 pounds of tension in the line. In this position the up control line should have about a ¼″ of slack in it. When the up/down control handle is rotated 180° to the back position the rudder will rotate through 270° and lay flat on the deck 10 in the retracted position.

Tension in the down control line 16 is sufficient to keep the rudder down ordinarily. If the rudder blade 4 generates a significant lateral load while making a right turn or while sailing on a starboard tack the tension in the down control line is not sufficient to keep the rudder down. This lateral load will cause the rudder head 3 to move to the left and the hook 24 will engage the detent 23. In order for the rudder head 3 to move to the left there needs to be some freedom of movement between the rudder mount 1 and the rudder head 3. If the rudder head 3 rotates straight back as if the rudder hit a submerged object or if the up control line 15 is pulled, the hook 24 will not engage the detent 28.

Freedom of movement between the rudder mount 1 and the rudder head 3 is provided by about 0.022″ clearance between the bolt 6 and the mating hole in the rudder head 3. The bolt is tightly threaded into the rudder mount 1. The bolt cannot be too tight.

Claims

1. A retraction system for rudders for small boats having a hull with cockpit and deck comprising a ruddermeans connecting said rudder to the rear of a boat enabling said rudder to pivot on an axis such that when the rudder is retracted, it rotates upwardly through about 270° from the normal operating position in the water while twisting about 90° so as to lay essentially flat on said deck.

2. The retraction system of claim 1 wherein said means connecting said rudder includes a rudder mount pivotally attached to the transom of said hull.

3. The retraction system of claim 2 wherein a rudder head is pivotally attached to said rudder mount and the rudder head rotates about an axis at a compound angle defined by looking down at the rudder in the normal operating position, the rudder head rotates counterclockwise about 45° and then in the orthogonal and vertical plane rotates aft about 55°.

4. The retraction system of claim 1 having one control line to rotate the rudder up and one to rotate the rudder down, said lines being operably connected to control means adjacent said cockpit

5. The retraction system of claim 1 having two control lines for turning the rudder while in the normal operating position to the left or right about a vertical axis, said lines being operably connected to control means adjacent said cockpit.

6. The retraction system of claim 1 wherein said rudder further has a rudder mount fixed to said hull and said rudder has affixed thereto a rudder head, said rudder mount having a hook and said rudder head having a detent whereby when said hook engages said detent, the rudder is prevented from upward movement under side loading.