I finally put a set of EPO rudders on my H20 and the results were disappointing. I tried them for the first time at the Fleet 514 Piñata Regatta last month. We only did one day of racing with the rudders. The first day of the regatta we didn't race in order to tune the boat. The only problem that was noticed was the EPO rudders aren't as wide as the stock rudders and vibrated in the rudder casting. I fixed that by shimming the bottom of the rudder casting with some electrical tape. The rake was adjusted so that the leading edge of the rudders was firmly held against the bottom of the rudder casting and the upper arm set flush on the rudder casting.
I took pains to drill the EPO rudders. I used the drill template, a wooden jig and the stock rudders as a guide for marking the holes and a friend with a drill press helped me drill the holes.
Initially when the wind was light (5-10knots) the boat helm was neutral and as the wind got stronger weather helm increased but was never considered excessive.
Race day the wind was strong (15-20knots). The problems started bearing off at A mark to head back down to the C gate. I was crewing for my Dad and his recollection was that "on a broad reach with plenty of power the boat accelerated and the rudders began to hum louder and louder. Then abruptly the rudders lost effectiveness and the boat would bear off slow down and the rudders would regain authority"
The first two times this happened I didn't believe him and I complained about the sudden heading changes. We were double trapped as we came around A mark and a sudden heading change was going to make me lose my footing. The third time this happened, again, at A mark my Dad lost his footing swung forward and knocked me off my feet. Needless to say it was quite the circus getting sorted out and afterwards I accepted that fact that something was wrong with the rudders. For the fourth and final race of the day we deliberately slowed down rounding A mark and the boat stayed under control.
Previously, we've never had trouble losing control of the boat rounding A mark with the stock rudders.
I don't trust the EPO rudders. I don't understand why they were cavitating
causing the boat to go out of control. The trailing edges of the rudders look good.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with the EPO rudders?
Is it possible to get another set of stock rudders?