Looking for Hickman Rudder

[harmstrong17]

Just bought a Hickman as my first RC yacht. Noticed that the rudder is slightly below the keel and the rudder is as far up as it will go. Thinking maybe that I have the wrong rudder? Does anyone know of a source for a replacement rudder for this hull? Have reached out to a couple current suppliers but both say their rudders will not fit.

Thanks for any help.

[Capt. Flak]

If there is nothing wrong with the rudder other than it not fitting the class rule of not extending below the bottom of the keel, I would just sail with it for now until you are comfortable with the boat. Nobody is going to kick you off the lake right now. Since Hickman no longer makes boats, you are going to have a tough time finding a rudder. Your best option is to modify the one you have or build a new one from scratch. There is at least one good step-by-step with photos in this forum. Just do a search for it. It has been a few years, so it is down in the stack somewhere.

My guess is the current rudder is a solid wood core. You can probably file down the bottom of the rudder and then but some glass over it and fair it smooth.

Once you start beating other skippers on the lake, that is when they will start to complain about your illegal rudder.

[harmstrong17]

thanks for the advice! I'll take your advice. Might take a run at modifying the current rudder when the time comes. What's a little more drag when you are still wrestling with tacking at the right time to round the markers smoothly. Thanks for responding so quickly. I will also look at building a new one, it might be an interesting project.

[Chuck Luscomb]

Sorry for the late hop in here guys. I have done a couple of refits on older Hickman boats. Blue Crab has a rudder mold and he still makes them and they fit the Hickman hull at the top of the rudder. You can find his contact information on the Suppliers page. He does not do this full time and it may take a bit of time to get the rudder but it will fit.

Let me know how you make out.