70s rudder

LAuman

Member
Have rescued a 1970 'fish. It has modern rudder gudgeons, but the spring pin is operated from the bottom (upside down?). The tiller looks authentic in shape and material but the bolts over the blade are positioned such that the forward end always scrapes over the stern deck. . . It's worn a crescent through the top glass layer.

The tiller extension (also oak or ash, stained to match the tiller) has a galvanized carriage bolt!

Is this original?
 
Have rescued a 1970 'fish. It has modern rudder gudgeons, but the spring pin is operated from the bottom (upside down?). The tiller looks authentic in shape and material but the bolts over the blade are positioned such that the forward end always scrapes over the stern deck. . . It's worn a crescent through the top glass layer.

The tiller extension (also oak or ash, stained to match the tiller) has a galvanized carriage bolt!

Is this original?
Others have written that the spring pin has been seen mounted either way. Unless the gudgeon has been damaged, It's not what is causing the deck scratches. I'd suggest countersinking the bolt-hole and using stainless steel with a Nylock nut.

"Deck rash" is caused by 50 years of wear--mostly between the aluminum parts of the tiller and the aluminum rudder cheeks. I can think of three ways to fix this:

1) Drive a wood screw into the top of the rudder--adjust as needed.

2) Reposition the two bolts of the tiller--cutting off an inch off the tiller then drilling--and carefully repositioning--new holes.

3) Shim the worn space between tiller and rudder-checks--using two thin pieces of metal.

The topic can be further researched by searching here--using the word "rash".


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Have rescued a 1970 'fish. It has modern rudder gudgeons, but the spring pin is operated from the bottom (upside down?). The tiller looks authentic in shape and material but the bolts over the blade are positioned such that the forward end always scrapes over the stern deck. . . It's worn a crescent through the top glass layer.

The tiller extension (also oak or ash, stained to match the tiller) has a galvanized carriage bolt!

Is this original?
The galvanized bolt is not how the manufacturer provided it, but the rest sounds normal. There are a few simple ways to fix this. The objective is to raise the tiller back to where it is supposed to be - the forward end should be an inch or two off the deck in normal sailing position. The aluminum straps have worn where they contact the rudder cheeks. Its highly unlikely the cheeks have worn much. The options:

1) Do as LandVW says and glue thin metal or rubber strips to the contact point so the straps keep the tiller up higher
2) buy new straps from your dealer.
3) No need to be cutting the tiller. Just unscrew the forward screw that holds the straps to the tiller. Fill the hole with marine tex or a really good filler that is waterproof. Position the tiller at a slight upward angle so it is elevated off the deck and redrill a hole thru the tiller and screw it back together.

I vote for option 3. Cheap, effective and long-lasting.
 
I like option 3 for the tiller-to-head attachment. Doing it.
The carriage bolt is already upside down and and notch is worn round. . . . Whole thing's gonna rip out. I have a 1960s Europe Moth U-joint I could use here.
Might this rig have other galvanized in it? Tiller
Rudder head.JPG
HikeStick attament.JPG bolts by the head are also a bit rusted, but I know that some SS corrodes under the right (wrong) conditions.
 
Factory never used bushing on bolt pivot points. Install bushings or better yet,
take it all apart and make a new rudder and tiller with bushings. If done correctly
you'll never have to do anything to the rudder again, ever! It's a good project when
it makes lots of wood shavings. Last rudder I got was a chunk of plywood and a piece
of aluminum bar stock for the tiller. Eighteen dollars worth of wood for Sunfish vs. $400+ for a
Butterfly rudder, and the Butterfly rudders don't float!
 

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