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Ruddersafe, also known as "Columbus's Egg of Rudders", has been around since 1985 and is truly a proven invention! Below, in support, is a wonderful article about the Ruddersafe dual rudder, published in ANWB Waterkampioen, the leading Dutch magazine for water sports enthusiasts!
BETTER STEERING WITH AN OUTBOARD MOTOR
Navigating slowly with an outboard motor can be an outright disaster when the boat has no other rudder.
For as long as the outboard motor has existed, inventions have been brought to market that more or less improved steering behaviour. Many of them were rather risky for the engine.
A new invention, the Ruddersafe, which we tested, is safe for the engine and genuinely improves steering.Very early outboard motors were already fitted with a kind of small rudder behind the propeller. This allowed better steering with the engine at low speed.
For many, many years, outboard motor rudders have been brought to market according to this principle, in all shapes and sizes. They do not always perform to the satisfaction of the engine manufacturer and ultimately the customer.Those small rudders are fastened to the cavitation plate of the lower unit with nuts and bolts. When travelling fast and applying full rudder suddenly, the immense pressure can cause the rudder to snap off, taking a piece of the lower unit with it.
Many engine importers consequently voided the warranty if such a rudder was fitted.AUXILIARY RUDDER LIFTS UP AT SPEED
Lifting at speed
The Ruddersafe, an outboard rudder of Norwegian manufacture, is based on a different principle.
This rudder consists of two blades positioned alongside the propeller.
At low speed, both blades are down and considerably improve steering with the outboard motor.
At high speeds, the blades lift up due to water pressure and hardly affect the operation of the engine.
We operated this outboard rudder on an inflatable boat. The combination was reasonably to well manoeuvrable, even with the engine idling. At higher speeds, the blades lift clear of the water, allowing everything normally expected of the engine-boat combination.
Simple installation
The operation of the Ruddersafe is very simple: on the front of the blades are two surfaces that push the blades out of the water as speed increases. To prevent this from occurring at low speed as well, two springs are mounted on the pivot pins to provide the necessary counter-pressure. This spring tension is adjustable.
The Ruddersafe is available in three sizes, depending on the size of the boat.
The packaging box contains both blades and the mounting hardware. Anyone can install this auxiliary rudder with simple hand tools, assisted by the clear instruction booklet.
Source: ANWB Waterkampioen WK 14 from 1985
Text and photos: Hans Martens
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