Most rudder systems for beach cats have some weak point, someone needs to design something better.

Here's my criteria for a good rudder system.

1a. Good light feel on the tiller, good rudder profile, able to be adjusted toe in, toe out, forward, aft, etc.
1. Easy to put down quickly, from a seated position in front of the rear beam. No hanging over the transome locking it down.
2. Able to be part way down for shallow water steering.
3. Kick up at speed if you hit something without breaking anything, no breakaway rods, or cams that wear out.
4. Easy to clear weeds from either side at speed. From a typical seated steering position.
5. Easy to pop up once you hit the beach from either the boat or the water.
6. Not be to heavy and have a good rudder profile. (This excludes the Dotan rudders, in my opinion)
7. Able to use whatever rudder shape, so the head allows you to interchange differient cord lengths, longer or shorter, any size. Not something you'd do more than once, but make the head able to take different rudders.
8. Be dependable, not break, not get sand in it. This excludes the Marstrom which is fragile, and the Hobie cam system which wears out, gets sand in it, etc. Basically be simple and bullet proof. Or have easily sourced, commonly available parts, no proprietary cams, etc.

The Bimare system doesnt make the grade it doesnt pop up, and you have to hang over the transome to lock it down, no part way down feature, hard to pop up at the beach, have to jump off before the beach.

Marstrom rudders are nice, but they are fragile.
Dotans are clunky and heavy and the rudder profiles are not great.
Hobie has that cam system (at least the ones I've seen) that wears, or gets sand in it.

The closest I've seen to a meeting my criteria is on the Dart 16. Simple, easy to pop up and down, pretty unbreakable, good feel.


Any of you to that challenge of designing a better system?

Bill