Could have saved the collet with a tried and trusted 'Z' bend (underhung) at the rudder arm end?
Reverting to the necessity or not of strakes for the Commander or Queen, seem to remember on a whiskered episode of Termmorrers World the reasoning of them on the deep V racing hulls (Full size). Chine rails fine, but to generate lift under a flattie type hull? Which Kite flys easier? a flat one or a 'Deep V'?
Regards Ian.
Yup - I remember spending many hours of my childhood trying to make a "Z" bend in a lengths of seemingly very hard piano wire (using a pair of my dad's oversized pliers) for use as a control rod (usually for a control line trainer or 1/2 A Team racer), and they always worked well enough.
Back then, I often thought that I would save-up enough pocket money to buy a pair of those special "Z" bending tools, but something more important always cropped up to relieve of my meagre funds, so I never did buy one.
......and now I don't have too because the weight of a brass collet is insignificant in my model boats and is far easier to fit and remove and I think it looks better than a "Z" bend and can never "jump" the plastic tiller - even on a fast boat with powerful steering servos.
Regarding the use of strakes on this Sea Commander hull- from what I have seen the Sea Commander seems to perform well enough when fitted with chine rails, so adding strakes may only be cosmetic, but they do look pretty and I doubt they would cause any harm - but I am not sure if I will fit them or not.
Unlike chine rails that I consider to be essential, and I will fit a pair of 1/8" x 1/4" obechie strips for this task and a similar pair of strips for the gunwale rails to help keep the deck dryer.
In everyday use, both of these rails also provide a degree of protection from accidental collision and can be easily replaced if they should become damaged.