In article , Jeff
wrote:

2) Over the stern rudder or binnacle/shaft type rudder?
Once more, seems the over the stern rudder would be less
problematical and repairable even at sea. No thru hulls or gears
would seem better.

Are you asking tiller vs. wheel? I prefer the tiller for small
boats, a wheel for larger boats. If you're asking about the rudder
hung on the stern or a post, that depends a lot on the total design
of the boat.

Our Tanzer's rudder is transom-hung, which I like because I can --and
do-- inspect it and its fittings periodically. When I didn't like the
original rudder, I built a new one. If the rudder breaks, a shelf and
fiddle onboard can serve as an emergency rudder. Being further back
increases the distance between the keel and rudder, giving it better
leverage & a bit less induced drag.

Tiller or wheel was available. I prefer tiller because it's simpler and
more responsive. Installing an autopilot is far easier and cheaper.
Pushed up to the backstay, the whole cockpit is open.

Oh, and we find our Xan just about perfect for local cruising. Have done
a few multi-week cruises on the ICW and plan to do the Bahamas with her
for a few months, but mostly use her as our "summer home" 60 or so days
of our six month season, most mornings enjoying a different
million-dollar back yard.

BTW, our first consideration in a boat is the berths. Dual-use bunks get
old fast. If we can't both get in a permanent bunk and be comfortable,
we move on. That eliminated most of the boats we looked at under 35' and
quite a few larger.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

In article ,
Rich Hampel wrote:

2. Stern hung rudders will 'ventilate' - sucking air down the sides of
the rudder - thus making them VERY inefficient and causing humongous
drag. Stern mounted pintel hung rudders are usually an unbalanced
design requiring huge loads to move them off center when the boat is a
'at speed'; plus, are very vulnerable to breakage if the boat slips
backwards such as when hove-to.

Slight disagreement. If the rudder's at all properly shaped, this won't
happen to a significant degree. I built our new one to NACA 0012 specs
and have surprised some people by shoving the tiller over hard at hull
speed, tracking only a boatlength away from our inbound track.

And when I heave to, we go slowly forward. The tiller tamer holds it
easily.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

In article ,
Red Cloud® wrote:

Diesel inboards have their own set of shortcomings, especially on
smaller boats. They are VERY heavy, have great sensitivity to ambient
temps, endless fuel issues, extreme initial cost, heat up the cabin
interior, nasty fumes, take up space, hole through the hull with a
spinning, vibrating rod through it, far more dangerous to dive UNDER
the boat to free a fouled prop... there's plenty more.

Not my experience after 10-12 seasons with ours, 1400 hours. Our boat
sold with either outboard or inboard (diesel or gas). I regularly "chat"
with another that ripped out an inboard and went outboard, so I can
compare a bit, apples to apples.

Inboard IS heavy, but the weight is more central so the boat hobbyhorses
less. Absolute weight difference is only significant to the racers.
Ambient temps are a wash when both are properly water-cooled. A vent or
blower fixes the cabin heat problem, but we just open a hatch for air.

Diesel can have fuel problems, but we have had ONE problem other than
running out of fuel (bad/no fuel gauge), and cleared that up with a
5-minute filter change. Nasty fumes go away with biodiesel fuel -- love
the stuff -- and/or simple maintenance. Outboards can have fuel
problems, too. Oh gosh, I dreaded each spring's first start.

Now, my friend has a LOVELY "garage" for his water toys where the diesel
was that I lust for. But, due to the designer not putting anything but
engine and stowage under the cockpit, I can do normal chores by just
reaching in, and can crawl around the engine for the rest. Still have
enough room around the edges for a bunch of gear. Yeah, that's unusual,
but was part of what sold us on the boat.

I wouldn't enjoy the times his outboard cavitates, nor when the prop
comes out of the water. (6' waves are *normal* in some locations) We've
cavitated our 16" three blade prop a few times by getting slammed with a
wave. An outboard wouldn't have gotten us out of the harbor those days.

Never enjoyed working on an outboard on the water. If you drop
something, it's gone. HATED replacing an outboard impeller on the water.

Freeing a fouled prop IS a hassle for most boats, but I can free ours
from the transom ladder. Used to have to do it two or three times a
season before the crabbers over"fished" themselves out of business. I'll
admit we're unusual there, though.

Outboards don't hardly charge batteries, critical for cruising.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/