E41 Keel/Rudder

[Ken Hays]

An E41 I am thinking about buying has had a 'Skeg' added to the bottom between the keel and the rudder-is this a common modification? Is it a good idea, a bad thing, or....?
I understand that the rudders were not really well made-were all of the 41's palgued with rudder problems, like Ralph Naranjo talked about in his book?

 

[Seth]

I would be curious to know just how this 'skeg" is attached, and where.

The rudders on the boats were not particulary troublesome-A small percentage suffered from quality problems, not from design flaws but rather the "Friday lay up" syndrome. This could occur with any boat.

As to the pluses and minuses, the boat was not designed with one, and does not really need one. Certainly it would slow the boat down due to the extra wetted surface area.

The only benefit, if you want to call it that, would be some protection from objects strilikng the rudder when underway. On the other hand, the shape of the hull with the longish fin keel will probably do just as good a job.

Like the 32 and 35 (70's vintage models), the rudder is a tad small, and if one were looking for real improvement in this area, a deeper, higher aspect rudder would be the call. More positive control and better upwind performance would be the result.

Bottom line: I would be leery of a mod like this and would need to know a lot more to offer a more specific opinion.

Good luck!

Seth

 

[Ken Hays]

Thanks Seth for the input. I had come to the same conclusions, more or less, myself. I decided not to buy that particular boat and am still looking for a more original one.
Ken

 

[Seth]

Good choice. As much of a fan as I am of the Ericsons, if you are looking at this vintage/era, you should also check into Cal 40's.

They offer nice interiors and have really excellent performance.

Also, they are one of the few older designs that have gone up in value-they continue to be in fairly high demand.

If you come across a boat you would like input on, feel free to run it by me-chances are I am pretty familiar with it.

Good hunting,
S

 

[Loren Beach]

While you are looking at boats in the 40-ish range, you might want to check out a Cascade 42. The mfgr is still in existance, in Portland, OR. These are a Robert Smith Sr design. Often used for blue water voyaging. Fin keel and skeg rudder. The hull shape is akin to the Cal 40, with no IOR influence. They are fast. You can find good examples for under 70K. Primo ones for about 100K.

Loren

 

[Seth]

Good call, Loren!

 

[Sam Clemens]

e-39

Ken you might check out the E-39 flushdeck if you can locate one.
I just bought one a couple months ago and we love it .
Big interior 6"4 head room and with the flushdeck the cabin top makes it seem even bigger inside.
The boat was made for tranpac racing in 71 and sails and points great.

Just a thought if your interested in Ericsons it also has a phrf rating of 105 and weighs 19,000 pounds.

Sam