Throughout the year in parallel with working on new projects and supporting the needs of owners of pre-existing Owen Clarke designs, OC undertake numerous consultancy projects for design offices, yards and owners. Recognised particularly as leaders in the field, OC rudder designs and other appendages have been retro-fitted onto dozens of well-known and not so well-known racing and cruising yachts from America to Australia, for inshore as well as offshore racing, on 12 metres, classics, IRC/ORC, Grand Prix, Volvo 70 and maxis.
The largest rudder to date has been a full carbon pre-preg package engineered to class (Germansker Lloyd) for Nautor Swan and their 35m racer-cruiser. The smallest and closer to home is a new rudder (with high strength stainless stock) for the venerable Moore 24 fleet in California. After two seasons of racing in San Francisco Bay with his wife Ashley Perrin on her beloved Flashman, designer Merfyn Owen developed a new rudder for the boat with the specific aim of improving the performance and handling in medium to heavy conditions when racing in non-class events under PHRF.
The new rudder was built in South Africa, taking advantage of the exchange rate of the SA Rand to the US $. Wetted surface area is identical to the old rudder meaning that even in light airs there are small gains with the new section. The difference between the low aspect ratio of a standard rudder (seen in the foreground) and the new high aspect profile shape is obvious and it’s not rocket science that the boat’s directional stability when pressed hard and the lift to drag numbers as boat speeds increase are considerably improved.
As well as section shape, what may also make OC’s rudder different to those of other designers that are beginning to appear in the fleet is that it can be swapped out with the old class rudder without any modifications to race in Moore 24 regattas. At the same time, the rudder is engineered to ISO 12215, part 8, Category A (Ocean), providing a heightened level of security for those heading offshore out of the Golden Gate or on Transpac and Pacific Cups.
For more information contact: racing@owenclarkedesign.com
Design and engineering consultancy services
Rudder design and engineering
