pics of my rudder set up for jets

[Craig314]

 Here ya guys go pics to give you an idea of my set up. this works great for jets but will work on prop aluminum boats too. and when i took these it was +3 outside, i hate the cold. If you got any quests just ask away, i love my jet and will never go back to a prop again.
Craig

[optaylor823]

I like this. I have been trying myself to come up with a way to add a rudder and this just give me a few more ideas. Nothing like a jet boat in the wind, should be just a sail boat. LOL. Thanks for the pics.

[paxpress]

I take it the bigger the rudder the better?  Cool idea 

[Craig314]

Thank you, to be honest, i had that piece a aluminum so i just used it. I think you dont want to go to big but that size works great for me.
Craig

[paxpress]

Craig, I just picked up a broken transom mount trolling motor to make one out of.  It will make a good winter project to kill some time while waiting for the snow/ice to melt.

[Craig314]

Sweet,
  Send me some pics and let me know how it works for you?
Craig

[paxpress]

 

Sweet,
  Send me some pics and let me know how it works for you?
Craig

I need to get a pipe wrench tomorrow to take the shaft off the motor.  It is a 30" shaft, so to make it easier to raise and lower, I took the tiller handle and used it to make it longer.  It telescopes out, so I took the metal piece from inside the tiller and extended it out so it goes inside the tube and drilled a hole through the shaft to bolt the shaft and tiller handle together.  I will then pull the wires out once I get the motor off.  Once I have the wires off, I will take a can of spray foam (the type you use to fill in cracks around windows, in concrete) to fill the shaft once I permanently bolt the tiller handle to the shaft.  This will keep the tiller handle extension from moving and support it.  I am then going to epoxy the tiller handle to the metal extension piece in place and then will epoxy the outer portion of the tiller handle to the end of the trolling motor shaft. 

The boat should draft about 1', so the keel will be about 18-20" below the water line.  I think that should be good enough to do the job.  Good enough to hold the stern from blowing around in the wind, but shallow enough that it shouldn't drag on the bottom, unless it is real shallow.

I figure that it will cost me about $5.00 in supply's to make it since my boat dealer gave me the motor for nothing. 

I will post pics when it's done.

[Craig314]

I can wait to see them, sounds like you got it all under control, i know you will see a big difference when your fising in the wind, just remember to tilt it up when running, lol.
Craig

[paxpress]

It's a MinnKota shaft and I am afraid it is going to crack when I take the motor off of it.  I think what I will do is buy a piece of pipe (galvanized) the same outside diameter as the trolling motor shaft and use that.  This way I can make the length anything I want.  I will still make a "handle" to put on the end of it so it is not just raw metal sticking up.  That way if someone would fall on it (while the rudder is down in the water) that there would be less chance of getting hurt. 

[Bassinkorea]

Good job with the rudder, it looks great 

Sorry to stray from the topic, but you just gave me a good idea for using a TM bracket for my pole anchor idea.

Great job 

[Craig314]

thats a good idea, as you can see i have the yugo of rudders, but it does get the job done, mostly you just need the tilt bracket and you can make the rest out of scrap parts, as you can see Duct tape covers my sharp edges, Send some pics of your finished product Bassinkorea , we can always use new ideas.
Craig

[paxpress]

Here is the mount.  The MK shaft outside diameter is 1 1/16".  Galvanized pipe, electrical conduit, even PCV does not come in any size that has that same outside diameter.  But I did find some kind of 3/4" inside diameter PCV fitting that is slightly smaller than 1 1/16" outside diameter.  I took two of these (in gray), measured on the galvanized pipe where I wanted the mount, drilled holes through the PCV and pipe to bolt in place.  I then put the mount on the PCV fittings, bolted the fittings to the pipe, and tightened the clamp on the mount to the PCV.



I have a foot of "handle" above the mount, and 27" below the mount.  As soon as I get some galvanized sheet metal, I will make the rudder.  Pictures to come soon.

[Craig314]

Good idea there is nothin like a little redneck engineering, Remeber to fit it to your boat and make sure it clears everything. I cant wait to see the final product. you know all the guys that see you fishing and and being blown around by the wind are going to want one. I went and looked at my boat again, it is very unhappy and the weather guys says more snow here.
Craig

[paxpress]

It is costing me way more than the $5.00 I figured  but this way, I know it won't break 

[Craig314]

True but think of it this way, it will save a lot of cusin when the wind blows and extend your battery time. I keep say i am going to update mine, but if it aint broke dont mess with it. I cant wait to see the final product.
Craig