17' Bandit rudder help

Hello all,

I bought an 11-year abandoned 17' Bandit in early june and until recently have mistaken it for an oday daysailer II. The previous owner had no recollection of what type of daysailer it was and I misread some information and for some reason believe it was an oday. (I could care less that it is not an oday) I have been repairing the boat for the past month and finally took it out for its first maiden voyage yesterday and am VERY HAPPY with the speed and comfortability the boat provides. Since I've been reading the wrong manuals up until now, I was wondering if someone could forward some pictures, links to where I might be able to purchase a new/used rudder/tiller system for a 17' bandit. Mine cracked as a result of new oak versus old fiberglass casing and strong currents.

Looking forward to being a (real) part of the SailMFG family,

Turner
17' Bandit
"Renovatio"

Hi There,

I am also a new owner of a Bandit 17, a boat I had never heard of until I bought it. I have had one test sail, and it was really nice. But there are a lot of things to do. Mostly I am dealing with the low end original parts and a very nice but unskilled previous owner. One shroud was broken and the replacement was not cheap. There is no hiking stick, and the tiller is none too comfortable. May not be original. My general impression is that the Bandit is a well designed and nice sailing boat with cheap fittings. One addition I am making is to put wood over the cockpit seatings. I bought some meranti and will screw it in. There was just too much white fiberglass for my taste.

You can get all the info there is at the following url:

[www.sailmfg.com]

The original rudder is a bit weird. it has a long rod acting as the pintles. Mine was really sticky until I hammered the rod straight and oiled the slot. The kick up system is not very effective. If I was to start from scratch, I would just add a more standard kick up rudder with the standard gudgeon and pintle arrangement. I would say the chances of you finding an original are close to zero anyway. But there is nothing unusual about the boat and I suspect that any rudder for a similar boat would do fine.

What sails do you have? I am hoping to add a genoa or cruising spinnaker to the main and jib I have. Two sails is kind of limiting. But it is hard to find specs. Your assumption that the boat is a daysailer might be a good guide, because I cannot find sail specifications anywhere. I will have to measure and study.

Pretty soon I will be trailering the Bandit up to Maine for two weeks of fun. It should be a good workout for the boat.

Let me know how things go. I am interested in hearing from another Bandit owner. I am sure that we can learn form each others trials and errors.

Theakboy (Peter)

Hey Peter,

So great to find someone who's into the "same boat" (literally and figuratively speaking) as I am. It's a really great sailing craft. I have not measured my sails yet but will let you know the measurements as soon as I do (I'm in the market for some better ones too) From what you explained above, it sounds as thought I have the exact same rudder system as you (duh, its the same boat). I have been studying rudders from pictures of various small sailboats and will probably build one from the information I gather on that... What sort of cuddy hatch/cover (if any) do you have on your bandit? I'm currently getting a custom canvas piece tailored to fit mine for storage purposes..just curious.

Look forward to helping each other,
Surfnsail24 (Turner)

Hi Turner,

Nice to hear from you. The canvas cuddy cover sounds like a nice idea. My boat came with a home made wooden door thing that weighed a ton and looked dreadful. I decided to take it off, and the boat looks better without it. Perhaps I will make another cover out of good Meranti plywood I have using the measurements of the current one. Let me know how the canvas cover works out.

Do you have a spinnaker? I would like to acquire one if I can get one cheap - the usual issue. I've never flown one by myself, but I know they are a pain to master. But they look so cool and I'm sure would be a hoot to try. I have seen used sails online and you can pay hundreds of dollars. My guess is that any used spinnaker close to the original specs will work fine. The Bandit 15 measurements are on this site, and it works out to 16' by 11'7" I think. The mast is the same height, so something like 16-17' by 12 would work. Assymetrical would be easier but the used ones are from racing boats, so that is what I will probable end up with.

By the way, where are you located and where do you sail?

Peter (theakboy)