Low speed steering solution found for single engine CD22.

[WannabeCBrat]

After my first boating season with my CD22, and several troubling docking maneuvers, (usually when I wasn't paying attention to the wind or currents) i found a cheap - low speed - steering solution. I put hydrofoil fins on top of my Permatrim. It improved my tracking in windy conditions, positive steering at slow speeds by giving me 3x more rudder space. Now, I can actually steer my CD22 while idling into my docking space.

The first picture in my album is of the fins mounted.

This is my 2nd season using these fins, no regrets here.

Uncle Norm's Marine Products

Uncle Norm’s Marine Products fins add steering control and powerful trim to outboard and I/O powered boats, solving control issues like wander and slow speed control and reducing ventilation for smoother engine operation. Fins also improve the efficiency of trolling motors. We can also help with...

unclenormsmarineproducts.com

 

[RonJr]

Your link should end in products with a “s”, not product.

 

[WannabeCBrat]

http://UncleNormsMarineProducts.com

 

[TyBoo]

I think I got the link fixed for you.

 

[Esmi2]

Very interesting. Low speed maneuvering is one of this newbie's biggest challenges. Thanks for posting!

Sounds like a much more effective solution than the fretting and colorful language tools I am using now.

 

[thataway]

Here is your photo. In the Uncle Ben's website, I see a foil with fins mounted downward as part of the foil, vs these add ons, which appear to be on a larger foil? These could be added to a permatrim--and could be easiy made by any metal working shop--in Stainless or Alumium. Another option would be to have non bent pieces of metal, bolted to the sides of the foil mounted either up or down. The fins at low speeds would be more effective if mounted pointing down--but might interfere with the dynamics of the prop wash, and affect higeher speed performance. Do you now how that has been addressed? It might be an interesting experiment. (Turning the fins you have downward--be sure you have at least 10% of the prop diameter clearance from the tips of the blades.

 

[Tom Hruby]

I am using a similar concept on my two electric outboards for slow speed maneuvering. I heat molded 1/8 inch HDPE sheets around a 1.5 inch metal tube and then riveted the piece around the outboard shaft. The top of the "rudder" is above the waterline so flow around it is quite steady and there seems to be no reduction in performance at my cruising speeds (5-6 mph). It makes docking a lot easier!