Have seen Triton rudders with the strengthening straps a right angles to the rudder boards. Could make them a little longer and turn them to the waterlines. Wonder why they put them on that way? There's one landbound T. rudder down at the yard whose rudder planks have shrunk - the metal cleats did nothing to hold them together. May have kept the rudder from bending, tho. Was that ever a problem? Maybe with a shrink and swell scenario the bolts loosen up inside and the added metal pieces were an attempted fix?
Shrink or swell the wood is going to do what it wants to. A plank rudder oughta be made from that nice dense honduras mahogany to survive the strange environment it's being asked to live in! Amazing, isn't it?
Gotta ask why Pearson didn't come up with a frp rudder for our frp boats?
Answer? No closed cell balsa available those days. :rolleyes: