water pickup on the left

[Kez]

All,

There are lots of Chinese made rudders on Ebay. I noticed most, if not all, of them has the water pickup hole drilled on the left side of the rudder blade. Has anyone any experience with these rudders? I am wondering if the water flow will be restricted when we turn right.

Thanks,
kez

 

[Daniel's Racing]

Slightly but the straights are a lot longer than the turns. It must be on the left to work right. That is the working side of the blade in the straights. Boats usually have a little left trim to go straight and it is the left side that tracks the boat.

Try a thin flat blade with no wedge and you will see what I mean about working and tracking.

It must have the wedge to make both sides displace water so the rudder reacts right and left instantly and so the boat will drive straight.

 

[Rudy Formanek]

I have found the left hand pickups dont work well on monos and cats, worse if the hole doesn`t start at the leading edge. Right hand holes dont work well or at all on hydros.. Hope John Finch will comment.Insane sells gas rudders with holes on both sides.

 

[steve wood]

all of my large blades have holes on both sides

 

[Terry Keeley]

Watched video of my boats running years ago and saw the water starve in the corners - just where you need it most.

Been putting holes on both sides forever. You can add a hole to an existing rudder with a drill press and a little patience, hold a piece of wood against the bit to get it started...