Whale
Other
Controls for a Macgregor 26 Rudder (88-89)
on "Whale"
The first picture is of the down haul system. There is a rope that goes
through the rudder and has a knot in it. This rope then goes through the
pulley on the aluminum channel. (So far just like the original) The rope
has a bowline in the end keeping the rope as short as possible. Next there
are three loops of 5/16 shock cord. The other end of the shock cord is
fastened to a pulley. I fastened a block of wood to the channel at the
top so I could mount a pulley on it. The goal was to have the rope turn
in line with the tiller pivot bolt so the rope would not change length
when the tiller was raised. The block of wood is held to the channel with
a bolt and an eye bolt. The top rope starts at the eye bolt, goes through
the pulley attached to the shock cord and back up and through the pulley on
the block of wood then forward on the tiller to the clam cleat. The set up
gives a 2:1 purchase to make the control easy. The shock cord ensures that
the rudder is always fully down and provides protection if the rudder hits
bottom or gets caught on something. I sail where there are lobster pots all
over the place and I am always running them down.
The second picture shows the other side of the channel which has the up haul rope.
Attached to the rudder is a stainless steel tang that is 10 inches long. The tang
has a pulley on the end which has the rope for raising the rudder going through
it. This rope also starts at the eye bolt that holds the block of wood (The
wooden blocks which are attached to the top of the channel have a notch in the
back to go over the tiller bolt.) to the channel goes through the pulley on the
tang and back through the pulley on the block and forward to the cleat. The
purpose of the tang is to make it possible to attach the lift line further down
on the rudder in order to get a better mechanical advantage. I first used a
rope for this but it vibrated when the boat was sailing. The tang is thin and
goes through the water without fuss. 
The third picture shows the rudder in the fully down position. In the picture
you can see how the new rudder was shaped to move the area further forward to
provide a light touch to the tiller. Since the new rudder is made of wood it
wants to float. At the bottom of the rudder you can see the lead weight which
helps to sink the rudder. Before the weight was added I had to hang over the
stern and put my foot on the rudder to get it to go down. In addition to these modifications I have added a "Tiller Stay" to the boat. The "Tiller Stay" does the same job as the "Tiller Tamer" but works smoother. The "Tiller Stay" is adjusted for a light friction on the tiller and makes it so that I can let go of the tiller anytime and the tiller will not move. This allows me to adjust sails or do other short jobs without the boat changing course.