SAW rigger rudder. L or R ?

[Simon.O.]

For a SAW rigger is there any reason to put the rudder left or right.

My take on the whole thing, if I get any of this wrong please say so.
There is only 1 or 2 turns made during a SAW run, these are wide and fast.
There is little or no turn fin.
The rudder is about 1" below the prop max, it is only there to make small adjustments.
Air rudders are an option, but below 60mph are a questionable item.

Big question.
For a SAW rigger does it matter if the rudder is on the left or the right. ??

[Ub Hauled]

Hi Simon, good to hear from you again...
let me start by saying that in a SAW setup there is NO turn fin,
the turns are actually done at no speed sometimes, I have seen
people "bleep" across the 2 turns because the speedos would not
give them speeds that were slow enough for a rigger to accomplish a turn w/o flipping (due to a a few things).
About the rudders, I prefer the rudder on the left side only because the prop wants to take you
right and a little bit of drag on the left can only help... but I have seen some of the other guys with rudders on the right... I guess it's a preference.
the air rudder (static) is to help a rigger to stay on a straight line at higher speeds when the little wet rudder cannot handle the force the prop is exerting to turn. To be redundant, I'd say the air rudder will help depending how little the wet rudder is.

[Xzessperated]

Simon without a turn fin my riggers want to keep going straight ahead at high speed when I give them some rudder. If I let them settle back in the water (go off the plane) then they turn much easier as there is a lot of boat in the water for the rudder to push against.
Knowing what an adjustable air rudder does on my glider even at slow speed I would like to try one on a rigger. One of the SAW guys in the US runs an air brake to pull the boat up quicker. There are +'s and -'s to such things but if we just sit here building the same old hulls then we end up with the same old speeds.
Having said all that I think a static air rudder (fin) is all you would ever want on a SAW rigger. Now I am starting to think of an air rudder that has a small amount of manual adjustment and can be locked with a screw. I better stop thinking and go to bed.

Paddy

[Simon.O.]

So far I see that right side is prefered. That is fine by me.
Next question.
I see that Chris among others runs the leading edge of the rudder in line with the front of the prop or thereabouts.
How important is the fore/aft location of the rudder for SAW runs.
I ask as my 6-cell shovel has the rudder, on the left, well in front of of the prop and it changes direction like a pinball.

For SAW runs do I HAVE to have the rudder aft of the drive dog.

I can do it either way, I just want to know why.

[Apples1]

isnt SAW Straight line???? dont bother with a rudder at all.. just point and shoot!

[Simon.O.]

isnt SAW Straight line???? dont bother with a rudder at all.. just point and shoot!

That is pretty much it as far as I see it.
Chris over at RRR has given me a bit to work with and as far as my SAW time I will do it my way for now and then adapt as is needed.

My 4S rigger is on the way, well it is on paper then wood then water but it is on the way.

[Xzessperated]

So far I see that right side is prefered. That is fine by me.
Next question.
I see that Chris among others runs the leading edge of the rudder in line with the front of the prop or thereabouts.
How important is the fore/aft location of the rudder for SAW runs.
I ask as my 6-cell shovel has the rudder, on the left, well in front of of the prop and it changes direction like a pinball.

For SAW runs do I HAVE to have the rudder aft of the drive dog.

I can do it either way, I just want to know why.

Simon if it is the Chris I am thinking of on RRR then I would listen to whatever he tells me. The more stable the hull in a straight line the better. My boats are what I call SAWcuit boats. I often have to dodge a duck and try to miss the reeds on the edge so my rudders are longer than a SAW boat but shorter than a Circuit boat. I slow the speed of the servo so it does not turn too quick but I think we all do that to some extent. I am getting a bit off topic there but I am trying to help you with setting the boat up for a good fast straight run. You do not want a twitchy boat to do that.

[Ub Hauled]

Paddy, it is Chris Harris (IMPBA Record holder).