Epic Weedless Rudder

I'm thinking about modifying the weedless rudder on my Epic V12. It seems the foil shape on the rudder is really thick, particularly on the leading edge. I think it's somewhat affecting my turning abililty and speed.

I plan to sand down the leading edge a little to make it a little more streamlined. Has anyone had any experience doing this? I'm concerned I may sand down too far into the core of the rudder.

Thanks,

Cody

In my very limited understanding of foils and how they work....

Narrow foils are fast but stall quickly. Thick foils are slower but stall at greater angles. So, you can't have both and all rudders are a compromise. If you thin down the leading edge of the EPIC rudder you might will stall quicker and loose turning power and you will start messing with the very specific math in the NACA Foil shapes and there designed function... So, you might be slower as well. Before you start messing with it, do a lot of research on NACA foil shapes. I suspect EPIC did..

Bill.

ps: I could be totally wrong...

Newbflat,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I wasn't planning to make any drastic changes. I figured the reason for the thickness in the leading edge may be due to manufacturing faults. I also have an Epic Surf rudder and the leading edge on it is thinner and more streamlined.

Cody

Yes the rudders are engineered and are as good as the hydrodynamics recommend for all Epic rudders.

Cody,
If you're planning on sanding the sides of the rudder blade - just be careful - From memory - the wall thickness on the foil is not that thick - maybe 1-1.5mm thick.
Pretty sure the blade is made in two halves - The shaft has two fore aft pins to stop it spinning and is filled with closed cell foam/filler...Ranga should be able to shed more light on the construction method.