How to protect rudder on the beach

Hope you guys can be patient with all my newbie questions but I have to learn from somebody. When you paddle up to the beach and then carry your ski up on the beach how do you protect the rudder? Cannot bear to let the weight of the ski rest on the rudder. What is appropriate in this scenario? Am I being paranoid?

yes. Just lie it on the side and let the rudder rest on the ground. Tip it upside down if it is windy. They're tougher than they look.

Your question is a little ambiguous.
It could be taken as, ' How do you put your boat down without leaving the rudder seemingly vulnerable? '.

Or,' How do you run up the beach with your boat at say the end of a race without hurting your rudder by dragging it?'.

I for one have no problems with just resting it on it's side with the rudder on the ground.
I suppose if you really wanted to worry about it, dig a hole for it .

As for dragging it up the beach, I tend to want to keep my boat in good nick, so I'll pick it up and carry it if that is what i required. I'm more concerned about scratching the hull than the rudder though.

I've felt my rudder drag through sand in the shallows and near the beach enough to not worry about just resting it on the ground.

If you mean, when you approach the beach, and you feel the rudder in the sand and then get out and still have a considerable walk through very shallow water, I just pick it up by the footstrap and slide it along beside me, or let it float along itself and give it a push every now and then to keep it going, no weight in the ski, very little force on the rudder if it did hit the sand a few times.

The fact that you see no manufacturers warnings or posts on here about damaging a rudder in such a way, pretty much means that it is really a non issue.

I've had mine drag over the top of a small rock/reef? and it didn't even leave a mark on the rudder.
Water is pretty good at allowing the ski to move out of harms way.

Now you can curl up and go to sleep and dream of those terrible waves that are waiting to smash your hull.....

rightarm, the scenario I am curious about is after I carry the ski up onto the beach and then resting it on the beach. Hope I would never paddle up onto the beach....yikes. I'm pretty easy with all my gear including a couple of my SUP which are damn near indestructible. Thanks for the responses.

Stanton,

So does this mean you bought a surf ski in the Tampa area? I see from your other post you were looking at an XT or V8.

Concerning your rudder question, personaly I'm more worried about the torque placed on the tube which houses the rudder post than I am about the rudder itself. Seems like repeated side loading pressure, laying the ski down resting it against the rudder, may over time cause stress cracks perhaps at the hull/tube junction or at the deck/tube junction. Leaking rudder areas have been a problem on some skis, some of which have been talked about on this site.

Hope you enjoy surf ski paddling, Tampa seems like a great place for the sport. I've visited and paddled sea kayak a number of times, usually paddled from Fort DeSoto out to Egmont Key and back. That would be fun on a surf ski.

Steve

Yes, in fact I did buy a V8. As well as a new red shaft Epic mid wing. I thought about the other more aggressive beginner boats but when I paddled the V8 it just felt so good. The bucket was comfortable, it felt slippery in the water with a good glide. I don't know.....it just clicked. Yeah, I'm aware that it won't be that great a challenge over my sea kayak (considering it's a sea kayak hull) but it definitely feels tons different. And an assload more fun. And I bet I can move my wife out her SOT and into the V8 when the time comes to graduate. She'll love it because she loves to go fast.

Took it for the first decent paddle on Sunday and caught a nice little swell at the mouth of the channel and had a ball. Made several rounds and had a grin from ear to ear. Made the sea kayak feel like a barge. Love, love, love the quick rudder response. Again felt like a Ferrari compared to the QCC's Smart Track rudder. I know I have a lot to learn but there's time and I love a challenge.

You are right about this being a great place for a ski. Lots of different types of water and the shape of Tampa Bay along with the Gulf assure many varying downwinding opportunities.

Plan to make that trip out to circumnavigate Egmont Key soon. I have lived in this area since '72 and powerboated all over the west coast of FL and to me nothing compares to the area from Pass A Grille beach to Anna Maria. I just love it.

Can you tell I'm psyched?

I wouldn't worry too much about the rudder on a sandy beach - however paddling on Moreton bay (queensland) and tributary creks and rivers where water tends to be muddy and rocks not visible when the water is still, catching a rock with your rudder even at moderate speeds (in a V10) bends the rudder hard up against the hull, making it impossible to steer and very scary bending it back again.

Go back to the store and get a new little stainless steel bit that goes inside of the lengthloc in your new paddle.
That way when it rusts up in the near future you will not be caught without a paddle.

When Epic make these, it appears that they do not passivate it after they cut and thread the metal, and then the stainless rusts where it has been worked.

Just Google 'passivating stainless steel' for more info.

Interesting and thanks for the heads up. Am pretty familiar with the passivating process from my long history in road cycling. The advent of SS as a frame building material in the cycling industries brought this issue to light on several cycling forums on which I chat.

Thanks also for the comment regarding rudders on a soft sand beach. You know how it is with any new toy. That first scratch or dent or hull leak really suck.

Stanton,

Congratulations and enjoy your purchase. I must admit I'm a little surprised you were able to purchase a ski "off the shelf" in Tampa, figure you would have to order one. If you don't mind me asking, what dealer did you buy from? I'd like to check them out next time I'm in the area.

Not only was I able to buy it off the shelf they accepted my _as new_ QCC in trade. Killer. Bill Jackson's Shop for Adventure in Pinellas Park. They are anything but a deep discount store but I have made some big purchases on some cool gear when I couldn't find the gear readily in other places. Such as my Laird SUP last year when nobody else locally had them. Some of my other faves such as Mountain Hard Wear, Smartwool stuff and more. Definitely worth a drop in for the outdoor enthusiaiast. They are next to a small county park that has a little lake and they will let you drop whatever you are looking at into the lake and paddle to your hearts desire. Right next to the TWO V8's they had a trailer with a couple of V10's, V10L and a V12. Paddles galore. And a knowledgeable staff.

Good to hear that Bill Jackson's has gotten into surf skis. I bought some windsurf gear from them long ago, back in the late 80s. I'll have to check them out next time I visit the Gulf Coast.