I’m in the same boat with Roger (pardon the pun). I trailer sail exclusively and never remove the rudder or motor. The only exception would be when I’m trailering somewhere overnight and don’t want to leave the motor on while we’re at a hotel.

I do tie both the rudder blade and the motor to the stern rail as a secondary means of support. I learned this from GB as part of the tutorial I received when I picked up the boat at the factory a few years ago.

Mike Riter
SV EmmaB

On Sat, Sep 18, 2021 at 6:18 AM ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com> wrote:

> Michael,
>
> There are enough other tasks to rig/unrig a Rhodes 22 without having to
> mess with the rudder.  As long as it doesn’t affect the trailer stability
> because of tongue weight, the reason to leave the rudder on the transom is
> because you can.  Leaving it in place gets you on the water more quickly
> and on the road more quickly. The rudder is in no more danger of being lost
> or damaged when trailering down the road vs on the water.  Would the rudder
> be safer in the cabin … sure it would.  The boat is safer when the trailer
> is parked in the driveway or tied up to a dock too.  But, we still take the
> trailer out on the road or sail away from the dock because we have
> adventures to experience and places to go.  The Rhodes 22 is a tough little
> boat and you don’t have to baby it.
>
> I take my tiller and rudder assembly apart, as per your description, for
> varnishing and painting.  It’s a royal PITA!  I wouldn’t want to do it
> every time I trailer the boat.
>
> I’ve been trailering my boat with the outboard and rudder on the transom
> since 1987, thousands of miles.  But, now I’m curious.  What do other
> owners do with their rudders and outboards when they trailer?
>
> Roger Pihlaja
> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Sep 17, 2021, at 6:59 PM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Why not store the rudder in the cabin, on the v-berth? With the
> exception of my 2.5 mile trip between the Nissequogue River and my home, I
> have always stored the rudder in the boat. I remove the single bolt & wing
> nut holding the tiller and store the tiller. I then unknot the control
> lines and remove the single bolt and fastener holding the rudder blade,
> storing it forward in the cabin. Lastly I unclip the pins and store the
> cheek assembly. The heaviest component is the blade which I have
> occasionally left attached to the cheek assembly so that I need not remove
> the lines. It is just a bit more unruly to handle. Handling the entire
> tiller to blade assembly is just crazy due to weight and length.
> >
> > I fail to see why anyone would risk losing or damaging the rudder on a
> trip.
> >
> > Mike
> > s/v Wind Lass ('91)
> > Nissequogue River, NY
> > I’d rather be sailing :~)
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of
> ROGER PIHLAJA
> > Sent: Friday, September 17, 2021 8:11 AM
> > To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] [Rhodes 22 List] Centerboard Down When
> Motoring on to Trailer?
> >
> > Michael,
> >
> > It all depends on how the weight is distributed on your trailer.  The
> transom is strong enough to support the static and dynamic loads of the
> mounted rudder going down the road.  So, if you have enough tongue weight;
> that, your trailer is stable on the highway; then, it’s OK leave the rudder
> on the transom.  I’ve been leaving the rudder mounted for trailering for
> years.  I like to kick up the rudder blade a few inches and cleat it off
> for more ground clearance.  The rule of thumb for stability is the tongue
> weight needs to be 10-15% of the gross loaded trailer weight (i.e. the all
> up weight of the trailer + boat + motor + water, fuel, food, sails, gear,
> etc).  Note, I also leave my Honda 8 bhp extra long shaft outboard mounted
> on the transom for trailering and it weighs ~130 lbs.  Check the list
> archives for a discussion of how to measure and increase your trailer’s
> tongue weight.
> >
> > With my trailer and mast carrier, the masthead is the thing that
> protrudes furthest aft past the transom.  I put a red flag on the end of
> the mast so the police won’t ticket me.  Depending on your trailer and mast
> carrier, you might have to red flag the masthead or the rudder blade,
> whichever is furthest aft.
> >
> > Other than the extra rigging/unrigging steps, it certainly doesn’t hurt
> to unstep the rudder and store it in the cockpit.  If you need more tongue
> weight, you can even put the rudder in the cabin up in the V-berth.  If you
> have to do that, I would wrap the rudder in something like a mover’s
> blanket to protect the V-berth’s cushions.
> >
> > If you leave the rudder stepped, remember it’s hanging out there on the
> transom, possibly the 1st thing to hit if you back into something.  & you
> can’t see it back there in your rear view mirrors!  I always kick the
> rudder blade up all the way before backing up.
> >
> > Roger Pihlaja
> > S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >
> > Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> Windows
> >
> > From: Michael McKay<mailto:mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2021 11:51 PM
> > To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] [Rhodes 22 List] Centerboard Down When
> Motoring on to Trailer?
> >
> > Roger,
> >
> > I’m preparing to trail my Rhodes on my own for the first time next
> weekend. When I brought her home last year, the seller had removed the
> rudder and put it in the cockpit for transport.  Is that step unnecessary
> or a reasonable precaution?
> >
> > Michael McKay
> > (630) 209-2054 (m)
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> >> On Sep 15, 2021, at 8:31 AM, ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi All,
> >>
> >> The centerboard is not a digital device.  You will find; that, if you
> motor onto the trailer with the board about half way down, it will guide
> the boat onto the rollers as per Stan’s claim.  With the centerboard about
> half way down, there is so little pennant left in the well that it cannot
> get snarled up.  If you have to back up, the centerboard will only drop
> down until the pennant catches it, no harm done.  I’ve been retrieving S/V
> Dynamic Equilibrium onto it’s trailer with the centerboard half way down
> since 1987.  After the boat is up on the trailer, I disconnect the fuel
> line from the engine.  While I’m waiting for the gas in the carburetor to
> be used up, I kick up the rudder blade and cleat it off.  Then, I pull in
> the rest of the centerboard pennant and cleat it off.  So, I always trailer
> and launch the boat with the centerboard fully retracted and cleated off.
> >>
> >> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium has a proper, high aspect ratio hydrofoil,
> centerboard.  But, I would imagine the newer diamond board centerboards
> would function in a similar manner when loading the boat onto the trailer.
> Try it with the board about half way down.
> >>
> >> All kick-up devices on sailboats are vulnerable to damage when backing
> up.  This includes the centerboard and even more importantly, the rudder
> blade!  I mention the rudder blade because, located on the transom, it is
> most likely to hit something 1st when backing up.  There is tremendous
> leverage to pry the rudder right off the transom if you back into
> something.  Not only can you lose the rudder; but, you might rip a big hole
> in the transom!  Leaving the centerboard &/or rudder blade  down when
> backing up is hazardous at best.  If you hit something, I would call it
> operator error.
> >>
> >> Roger Pihlaja
> >> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
> >>
> >> Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for
> Windows
> >>
> >> From: Ric Stott<mailto:ric at stottarchitecture.com>
> >> Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 4:48 PM
> >> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> >> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] [Rhodes 22 List] Centerboard Down When
> Motoring on to Trailer?
> >>
> >> I can assure you, it will ruin more than just the day.
> >> I believe the Diamond board was redesigned from the original blade
> style Center Board specifically to avoid such disasters, and is less
> susceptible to damaging the CB cap. The pivot point is different, but I do
> not know how it is different, I’ve never seen one. Stan is reluctant to
> sell me a Diamond board because it takes significant intervention and
> Fiberglass work to reset the pivot point.
> >> I have a blade type CB and have repaired the cap once and replaced the
> whole thing once.
> >> I rebuilt the cap, trunk and replaced all the control line rigging with
> new Turning blocks imported from England - the only source for them.
> >> After a steep learning curve - I never back the boat up (put it in
> reverse) with the CB down - it can cause damage to the cap.
> >> If you launch with the blade type CB free to drop off the roller - it
> can be catastrophic, I promise.
> >> Ric
> >> Dadventure
> >> ’84 Continental
> >> HBNY
> >>
> >> Richard F. Stott, AIA, LEED AP
> >> ric at stottarchitecture.com
> >> O -631-283-1777
> >> C- 516-965-3164
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>> On Sep 14, 2021, at 4:27 PM, Graham <gstewart8 at cogeco.ca> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> You can do that and It can be helpful perhaps with a strong cross
> current that makes alignment with the trailer difficult but I am reluctant
> to do this out of the fear that I will forget to retract  and cinch the
> uphaul line. If you make this mistake the centreboard will drop when you
> back the boat off the trailer and this can result in serious damage as the
> centreboard can be pushed up with sufficient force to break the centreboard
> cap. That will ruin your whole day.
> >>>> On Sep 14, 2021, 4:00 PM -0400, Jeff Smith Photo <
> jeffsmithphoto at gmail.com>, wrote:
> >>>> The diamond board should be down when motoring on to the trailer -
> right?
> >>>> Best regards,
> >>>> Jeff
> >>>> JeffSmithPhoto.Net
> >>>> w <http://NJphoto.Net>ww.jeffsmithphoto.net
> >>>> Cell: 732-236-1368
> >>>> Atlantic Highlands, NJ
> >>
> >
> >
>
-- 
Michael Riter
President, Trail Design Specialists, Inc.
Lead Instructor, Trail Master and mechanized training
mike at traildesign.com
678-410-8021