Saturday, July 17, 2004

Raritan rudder position indicator

Boat Model - Morgan Sailboats: "We bought a 415 last April and found we could not back her at all -- turning sharply to port one time and then to starboard another time. Eventually, I determined that once the boat began moving backwards the water pressure captured the large rudder and overpowered the hydraulic steering, pushing the rudder to one side or the other. The secret turned out to be keeping the rudder as close to centerline as possible, and the key to that is a Raritan rudder position indicator. Cost me a couple hundred, installed it myself over a weekend. Sending unit attaches to the quadrant under aft berth and it sends electrical info to an indicator on the binnacle. What a difference it made. I pull up to a slip, turn to get my alignment, center the rudder according to the indicator and just back right in. I recommend it.
We concur with all your comments on how much we love our 415. We're not racers, but we sail whenever there's air and tack fine without using engine power. In very light air, we just fall off ten degrees toward a reach to maximize speed then tack as soon as the boat's moving nicely. Wouldn't want to be without our Morgan; beats the tar our of our old Irwin 37."

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