Replacement rudder for Epic V10 Sport

Anyone know where I can get a replacement rudder for my Epic V10 Sport, preferably in the US?

Epic?

Yes, Epic US. If you have a local Epic rep who has lent you their skis to try, see if he/she can help you out (they do get a small % off each sale that goes through them) - price will be the same for you. That's what I did when I needed a second rudder. Take a good look when you get it and install it quickly. Quality seems all over the place judging from my 2 rudders: the first (came with the ski) has a void in the outer layer (the clear coat epoxy) showing the carbon fiber - about 1/2" long by maybe 1/8" wide by 1/16" deep area near the leading edge. I just filled that in with epoxy myself and sanded to maintain a smooth leading edge. The rudder I ordered (surf rudder), came with a shaft that was obviously narrower in diameter than the one on the weedless rudder above - the surf rudder would move about too much when installed. A 3" long tube made out of a strip of aluminum soda can cured that perfectly. But the surf rudder's shaft is also installed at a bit different angle than the weedless shaft - one rudder has a base that is parallel to the boat's hull, the other is at a slight angle with the front touching the hull and the rear off the hull a bit. Both are "within tolerance" I would say, but if I had another 1mm off and then I would get rubbing issues...

Or you can order directly from Epic through their web site/phone... Shipping was fast in my case and costs about $10 on top of the rudder's cost

Nearly all epic rudders I have seen, require, what can I say, tweaking before fitting.
The shaft is easy to bend in a vice, hell I even did it with my hand and the log in the parking lot to make it fit the hull correctly without rubbing or gaps.
The newer ones also require you to sand off the excess flash to have a rounded leading edge and smooth tail.

The last two I got also required cutting off 3mm to stop them hitting the cover.
The holes in the shafts for the locating pins can also be be drilled in the wrong place.

Which is just silly as a very simple jig could be made to get it right every time.

Most of what you mention actually is true for my rudders too - the leading edge is not sanded well - there is a line from the mould that should have been removed but was not (so the foil is not perfect). But the trailing edge is sanded fairly well on my rudders.

The shaft length is OK on both of my rudders, but the plastic cap covering the rudder box interferes with the rudder operation (rubs) - I had to "thermoform" the hatch cover a bit so that I got a couple of mm additional clearance (rather than cut the rudder shafts - in my case I don't have much excess since the rudder tube through which the rudder shafts go is epoxied with a blob on top, which raises the plate that attaches to the rudder shaft and which in turn rubs against the plastic cover).

When I tried to bend a similarly ill-angled shaft on a Think surf rudder, the rudder developed a crack - looks like the rudder is not solid composite inside but something less sturdy. So I am reluctant to attempt to bend the Epic, not knowing if it too has some sort of softer core or just is not strong enough... But I will probably try it nevertheless, to get a "perfect" angle on it.

Thanks a lot for the info, folks. I got my replacement rudder, but it didn't come with the rudder pin to keep it shaft from slipping between the spreader bars when I turn. Any suggestion on what would work well as a replacement pin?

You can reuse the pins from your other rudder if you still have them.

I was actually thinking that the pins are somewhat of a pain to insert and keep track of when removing the rudder. Perhaps a U-shaped piece of stainless steel wire would work better, since it is one piece.

Most hardware stores sell small diameter nails (for picture hanging or base boards) - I've seen them plated or made of non-rusting material and small enough that they may actually fit the opening. Crafts stores sell wire - just cut a length (these things are for making jewelry and some may be stainless). Hobby stores may be selling ready-made pins that would fit.

I would guess if you call Epic, they may be able to send you a set of pins too. Good luck!

Try a bit of stainless welding wire.
The U shape cilp is a bloody good suggestion.

The Epic rudders are foam cored and the shaft is quite solidly anchored.
It is easy to tweak the shaft for a perfect fit.

Still don't rekon that a paddler should have to do the final sanding and adjustment for what is, in Australia, a product in excess of $120 a pop.

A wise man once told me, if you want to open a successful business, just open up right next to one and do a better job of looking after customers.

Every time I have to pay too much, bend shafts myself, somewhere in the back of my wandering mind is ticking over thinking, my next ski won't have this sort of shit problems.
In reality, they are easy for brands to fix, it's just attention to detail.
If the sellers in Australia want to charge through the nose for an unfinished product, then let them learn the hard way, of customers going elsewhere.

Competition in surf ski land is hotting up.
There are heaps of new brands and models.
There is also a boyant second hand market.

Darwin will rule in the end, crap will gradually get filtered from the gene pool.
I wonder which ones have got the nouse to survive?

I fiited an epic surf rudder to my Stellar. I used a stainless steel split pin to replace standard pin. i had to trim to length but it is easier to remove. Only cost a few cents at a chandlery

Boof Head wrote: I fiited an epic surf rudder to my Stellar. I used a stainless steel split pin to replace standard pin. i had to trim to length but it is easier to remove. Only cost a few cents at a chandlery

Epic offers the surf rudder for either the V10 or V12, I'm guessing the shaft is a little different. Do you know which epic surf rudder you used for your stellar?
Thanx
Bill

The only difference in the V10 and V12 rudder is the shaft length.
V12 rudders actually come with the holes drilled for a V10 already, all you have to do is cut it to length.

The weedless rudder is the same, I don't think they make a specific V10 weedless, it's just one rudder to fit both.
But you can buy a V10 rudder separately.

Split pin is another good idea, is it stiff enough to stop the rudder slipping?

Bill L wrote:

Boof Head wrote: I fiited an epic surf rudder to my Stellar. I used a stainless steel split pin to replace standard pin. i had to trim to length but it is easier to remove. Only cost a few cents at a chandlery

Epic offers the surf rudder for either the V10 or V12, I'm guessing the shaft is a little different. Do you know which epic surf rudder you used for your stellar?
Thanx
Bill

I used to have a V10. It had the carbon fibre shaft which snapped but I managed to salvage the foil. the stellar shaft is much thinner than the epic, so I built my own stainlesssteel shaft and fitted to the Stellar. Apparantly, Stellars now have a decent rudder.

My new stellar does have a decent rudder - 8" and balanced, slightly swept back for weed deflection. I am hoping to ultimately put a ~10" surf rudder on it though for bigger waves - I am hoping stellar decides to make one.

Thanx for your reply.

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Epic has been listening, in our latest shipment all retrofit rudders have been "finished" properly

Cool. Another question for y'all. My replacement rudder has no resistance whatsoever. It turns on a mere tap of my pinky toe. It's not a matter of the lines being taut. There's just no resistance. My old rudder had resistance to it, which meant I had to press more to get it to turn, but also meant it kept a straight line when i wanted to go straight, and seemed to act more as a keel to keep me on line in a cross wind. SO my question is, is there supposed to be some resistance (i.e., stickiness) to the rudder? If so, how much? And how do i create such resistance?

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like you went from the original slightly smaller swept back rudder to the larger straighter elliptical surf rudder.

It's just like shopping trollies or the caster on your car.

The backward sweep puts more of the rudder behind the pivot point and therefore more and more pressure on the rudder to re-align itself to center.

The elliptical rudder despite being larger is much lighter becuase it has a lot of it's area in front of the pivot compared to the original, thereby generating less restoring force.

Hence my self centering mod....

Read it here

Thanks. it's actually the same rudder as the original.

There are 2 easy ways to make the rudder keep its position a bit better. If it is so loose due to the shaft being somewhat narrower than the tube so that it wobbles, then you can wrap around the shaft a thin layer of aluminum cut from a soda can. If you don't have that much clearance, another option is to ever so gently bend the shaft of the rudder so that it is no longer perfectly straight but has a small curve to it (do not bend it from the base so that you do not change the angle of the rudder blade to the boat, just curve the shaft). That would create some resistance. Probably not enough to keep it straight if there is much force like surfing or inadvertantly tapping with your toe, but enough to keep its position if you just let go of the rudder while paddling in flat water. Now that I wrote all that, I'm not sure what the purpose would be, since the rudder would still be pretty turny and not really self-centering...

Was your previous rudder shaft stainless, or the black carbon looking one, or the old alloy?