Does this part of the gudgeon do anything?

You can cut the tiller to fit but the straps are different. There is a rudder head on Ebay for
$75. If you are willing to make your own rudder and buy the rest of the parts you'll have
about $150 into it, a little bit less than the boats value. Buying a new rudder, rudder head
and parts will put you above the boats value, probably not such a good deal.
 
You’ll need the new straps. I have seen the straps bent in order to fit the old tiller, but that’s not a common modification. You could buy the new straps and use an old hockey stick for the tiller.
If the old straps need to be bent to fit the new rudder, how come the new straps don't need to be bent to fit the old tiller? Or will the tiller need to be cut down to fit the new straps?
EDIT: Oh, you said an old hockey stick, I thought you were calling the old tiller a hockey stick...
 
You can cut the tiller to fit but the straps are different. There is a rudder head on Ebay for
$75. If you are willing to make your own rudder and buy the rest of the parts you'll have
about $150 into it, a little bit less than the boats value. Buying a new rudder, rudder head
and parts will put you above the boats value, probably not such a good deal.
I paid too much for the boat, so I'm not concerned with it's value, but I would like to sail it soon. I've built a rudder and tiller before and I'm not interested in doing that again. At this point I just want to throw some money at it and be done, but I need to know what fits what. So if I can get the rudder and cheek assembly and maybe new straps and cut the tiller to fit, I'd be happy.
EDIT: Yikes, I didn't see how much two straps cost before...$66 at Sunfish, $11 at Intensity.
 
To get sailing and to save some complexities, you could cut a smaller (4" or 5") inspection port as indicated below. For convenience, position the new port so the distance from inspection port to ["pulled"] screw is the same as from your elbow to your thumb.

The existing upper backing plate may be sufficiently solid to support bolts and "Nylock" [self-securing] nuts. Of course, the old wood backing plate can also be removed. The existing lower backing plate screw may need attention, too. A new bolt there would be a good idea.

Fullscreen capture 2272018 24804 AM.bmp-001.jpg
 
My personal opinion is this is getting overly complicated. The inspection port and repair needed for the rudder you have is inexpensive and simple. Making that fix doesn’t preclude you from making the upgrade to a new style rudder later if you decide it is necessary or desirable. And you could over time keep an eye on eBay and this board for inexpensive used pieces for the upgrade.

So I’d fix the boat as it is, sail itband decide on the upgrade later.
 

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