420 winged rudder

Hi Mike,

Surely nobody is going to mistake a rudder with a step in its profile above the waterline for a winged rudder?
Are we talking 6 inch wings? a two foot T-foil? or a little fence?
Rudders with actual wings are not that common, I'm surprised more people did not notice them.
Also any meaningful winged rudder is going want a stock that controls the angle of attack properly, and gudgeons etc that resist some serious vertical force?

Maybe it was some gismo for protecting the edges while rigging or trailing?
Maybe it was still in the bag with the flaps of the back sticking out sideways?

Things is, if I saw a winged rudder on a boat (other than a 14 etc), I would probably make time to have a semi-proper look at it, or at least remark on it to the owner.
(possibly along the lines of 'not much weed in January, please come back in the summer!')

Originally posted by gbr1360 Fascinating to see where this forum thread has lead, with plenty of perfectly valid points being made and some wothwhile discussion. However, in my capacity as Sailing Sec of the GBR 420 Class Association, and having been at the event itself, I see a need to respond regarding the original alleged "infringement".   There were six 420s at the event, mostly squad level boats with highly experienced International level sailors. Any such "wings" would not be class legal. We know who each of the sailors were and have spoken with them and can confirm that no 420 was using such a rudder. I am very sure that if any 420 had been suspected of anything untoward, one of their fellow 420 sailors would have had them in the protest room faster than you can say "Jason Belben"  (sorry Jason)   It's unfortunate that sometimes these things can get out of hand - the backlash from this thread has already cased a fair bit of angst for the sailors and one or two odd phone calls - but I am sure that the original poster didn't intend that and it's an honest post of what someone thought they saw.   As an organiser of many National level events I echo the earlier thoughts that rule observance is important - to deliberately flout them is unfair not just to other competitors but also to race organisators and helpers - many of whom are volunteers. Of course there are times and events when some experimentation is appropriate, so I would say if in doubt, ask.   So either they weren't 420s, or it was something else mistaken for wings (maybe one of the new micro outboard motors.....).   Happy Sailing.

I'm off to Specsavers.

I've long since been treating this as a hypothetical discussion...

Originally posted by gbr1360 ... So either they weren't 420s, or it was something else mistaken for wings (maybe one of the new micro outboard motors.....).