Jaguar 25

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Wansworth

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Found this boat and been onboard.Would be the perfect boat for me but for one thing;it has a transome hung rudder without any skeg,like a dinghy.Any thoughts or experience of these boats..I have horrible thoughts of the rudder blade getting smashd off......
 
I think the fin keel is lower than the rudder. My lift keel version the rudder was deffinitley lower than the raised keel, but the rudder lifted too.

Look around the bottom bracket to see if there is any obvious sign of stress cracking from a previous knock. IIRC mine had some big ish backing plates where the mountings were.

Line diagram here somewhere:
http://www.jaguaryachts.co.uk/jag25.html
 
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Thanks,will have a closer look at the fittings and backing plates etc.Logically the rudder is protected by the keel or in my case by , the bilge keels ,from possible rudder bashing stuff.Its a pity it does not have a skeg.
 
It is rare to find a bilge keel boat where the rudder is deeper than the keels ... but not unknown. Its a PITA when it is, esp if the rudder can lift off when going aground.

Mine is not supported by a skeg but it is significantly shallower than the keels.

If the rudder is fixed and sturdy it can make a third point for a twin keeler to rest on when dried out if it is about the same depth.

If the rudder can lift off it might do so if the boat is left on a drying mooring . For that reason I do not leave my rudder on the transom when the boat is moored.

Other than the above there are no problems That I have discovered
Plenty of well known classes about with similar rudders. Simple spade rudders as well that are not transom hung but also have no skeg.
 
IMHO transom hung rudders are great, you can see them and any issues arrising. They are easy to take off and repair and all the fittings are usually pretty easy to get at. I'd rather have one of them than one thats hidden from view most of the time!
For a 25 foot boat IMHO its unusual to have a skeg if the boat has reasonable performance which the Jag 25 does.
 
If you are of the practical type Mogy you could make up one of the daggerboard type of stock and blade, and set it for any depth that suits; also only the blade needs removing for complete security, nice little project .
If handy with wood tools, you can make it to an airfoil profile for even better efficiency.

ianat182
 
I like the security of a skeg-hung rudder myself, especially on a twin-keeler where there is no central keel to absorb a first impact. I once had a Leisure 17 (brilliant boat) and was sailing her in Morecambe Bay, about 3 miles from the shore over the Morte Bank. This is well-named as there are wrecks and debris there going back centuries and the inner reaches aren't surveyed. The boat drew just over 2 ft and the echo sounder showed plenty of water (by local standards!). There was a loud bank and the stern kicked violently upwards but she carried on sailing OK. When I recovered the boat onto her trailer I found I large chunk missing from the forward bottom corner of the skeg - just like a bite. I don't know what I hit: but it would have torn off a transom-hung rudder and probably bent the shaft of a spade rudder and jammed it.

Skegs are very hard to find on modern yachts. I've been told that builders don't like them because they make the hull mouldings awkward to handle and support. Also there's an argument that they added unnecessary wetted surface and hence drag but I shouldn't have thought this would be significant on a cruising yacht.
 
A previous owner of Carousel has modified the rudder hinge bit.
The two parts across the back of the metalwork are bolts in a slot (with a small landyard) so if I clout the hard stuff the rudder can kick up. The rudder blade is tethered with the lifting line when it's fitted.



The Jag 25 was different in that it just slid up and down a stainless bar IIRC.
 
I took a bilge keel Jag 25 to the Azores and back single-handed as part of the 2008 Jester Challenge. I re-inforced the rudder and pintles for the passage but don't think I would have done so if I hadn't been doing the Azores. When I first bought the boat it had the facility for lifting the rudder a few inches and resting the pintles on a hinge which flipped up which no doubt gave a little extra clearance when resting on the bilges.

Unless you intend grounding regularly (which I don't consider good for bilge keel boats anyway, although I'm sure some will disagree) I don't think you have too much to worry about.
 
I had a swing keel Jag 25 and never had a problem with the rudder, I dont remember exactly how it worked or even if it lifted, but we sailed up and down the East coast and often dried out so it cannot have been a problem.
It was a lovely boat, fast and seaworthy. The only drawbacks were lack of headroom - I believe later models had a raised coachroof and the unusual heads system.
 
Thanks to all.I am genetically conditioned to consider boats that dont have long keels with rudders on the back to be the only "proper" boats!Just a question of mind adjustment!
 
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