Vertical Rudders Finally a Reality

At the November 2016 AGM in Bermuda, the Class approved a retrofit for the Viper allowing the rudder to aligned vertically. This is being done to provide better steering and control in heavier conditions.

Viper 640 New Rudder
The Class Approved Viper vertical rudder adapter kits are available for pre-order at the Rondar parts website:  

North American Orders   Australian & European Orders

The adapter kit includes a new rudder bracket to replace your current one (see photo below) plus an angled tiller so you can use your existing rudder.

Depending upon demand, Rondar expects to ship the first batch in early April.

As the vertical rudder orientation is expected to generate higher loads on the hardware, Rondar is only building the new gudgeon plates with 10mm bearings for the stronger 10mm pintles. The upside is that these are a wearing part, so the smaller 8mm pintles would have to be replaced at some point anyway. Boats with sail numbers #224 or higher came with 10mm diameter rudder pintles and should order the “A kit” ($160 / £120).

Boats with sail numbers up to and including #223 should order the “B kit” ($320 / £214). This kit includes a pair of 10mm Seasure rudder pintles in addition to the gudgeon and tiller. Some boats may already have replaced their pintles, and therefore we recommend that you measure the pins on your rudder before ordering. If they measure just under 3/8ths of an inch in diameter, then you need to order Kit B, which includes two new pintles.