need diameter for tightening nut (old style rudder system)

jaas75

Member
Hi guys , as the title says im looking to replace the nut that tightens the old style rudder for a wing nut to make it easier to adjust, instead of always having pliers with me. I store my boat at the lake so i cant do it my self .

thxs in advance
jose


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Can't remember the size but this one is easy...

Take the bolt out (or just take the nut you have that fits) and any decent hardware store will be able to match it up really fast.

A light tap with the nut removed and the bolt should just drop out.

Don't lose the tube that is slipped over the long bolt.
 
my hope was to buy the nut before i go to the lake. So i can avoid one extra trip and start using it right away.

But thxs for the suggestion
 
1/4" diameter was standard
If ¼" was standard, the most common size is ¼-20. The 20 represents the number of "threads per inch". (But there is also the finer-threaded ¼-28—an unlikely thread, as it's too fine IMHO for a marine environment).

Buy one of each, and maybe just in case it was modified before you owned it, a 5/16" wing nut.

Or, if you're clumsy—like me—one of these, in ¼-20

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Can't remember the size but this one is easy...

Take the bolt out (or just take the nut you have that fits) and any decent hardware store will be able to match it up really fast.

A light tap with the nut removed and the bolt should just drop out.

Don't lose the tube that is slipped over the long bolt.

Where do I get a tube, Noticed this weekend that Mine does not have one (got it that way).
 
Thus why you don't want to lose it...

Stiff nylon tube that the bolt threads slip through (slightly over 1/4 inch ID) and I don't know the correct length.... and the length matters.

You could probably use brass tube from a craft supply store. 2X the wall thickness is the step in inner diameter so get the size the 1/4 inch ID just slips into. (should be right beside the 1/4 inch)

Nylon would compress with tension and thus allow a LITTLE margin on length. Brass you'd have to cut essentially perfect length.

I'm not sure what the OEM tube was made of. I seem to remember metal.
 
What is purpose of tube? to limit how much the 2 end pieces clamp down so you can tighten it but not put stress on the plates to bend out of shape? My bolt is bent and is kind of tight even before I get "too tight" to the point the rudder has no play.
 
So long since I actually used the old style... I know it controls when the rudder pops up from hitting something. A metal tube would have virtually no adjustment, while the slightly compressible nylon tube allows adjustment.

Without the tube you tend to end up having the rudder pop up a LOT just sailing around. You simply can't get the adjustment right.
 
The tube is like surgical tubing or similar size and flexible. Long enough to cover the bolt without interfering with tightening. It helps hold the carriage bolt vertical in the transom slot and limits side to side play.
 
The tube should be nylon not metal. Its length isn't critical but the inside 1/4" and outside 1/2" diameters are. The length should be a bit shorter than the exposed bronze bolt that it covers. I just measured mine, and it is 5 1/4" long.

The nylon tube is not and should not be compressed at all when tightening the wing nut. The purpose of the tube is to prevent athwartships movement of the bolt, or more accurately the bronze plate on the keel. Without it, the bottom plate will move laterally if the rudder gets loaded up, and the rudder will "wash" out causing it to pop up. The nylon tube fits neatly into the slot in the transom of the boat and prevents this movement.

I bought a replacement nylon tube from McMaster-Carr on line. I just checked that site and this is the SKU: 8628K27. The price is $10.56 plus shipping for a 5' length. I would call them and ask if they can sell you a 1' length. I know that is the length that I bought a couple of years ago.
 

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