Rudder Won't Stay Down 85' Capri

dpfreeman

New Member
I just bought a 85 capri #486. Sailed it the last two weeks in a row and love it! I have one issue with it though. The rudder won't stay down for any length of time and my son is getting tired of holding it down. I've tried to tighten or loosen the bolt but it won't budge. I see a small hole in the bolt head (it's a flat head screwdriver bolt head) and I can spin the bolt around to where the hole lines up with a hole underneath it but I don't know what is for. It may be for a pin that you are supposed to take out when you take the rudder apart. In another post I saw a reference to something like that. Anyway I'm looking for suggestions of how to keep the rudder down. One guy drilled a hole through the rudder and inserted a quick pull pin. Would that mess up the rudder in the long run? Another person suggested kevlar material to tighten up the fit of the rudder. Not sure where I put that. Anyways any suggestions would be welcome.
 
I own a 1987 model that has the stock kick up rudder. It sounds like you are missing a very small, but vitally importiant part. The hole you see in the end of the bolt should have a small pin in it, that sticks through the hole and into the metal part of the rudder to keep the bolt from turning. It must have a name but I can't think of it. It is split and will need to be hammered through the hole, otherwise it will just keep falling out. I would think any hardware store should carry it. I am going to attempt to attach some pictures of what I am talking about, but if they do not come through, email me at [email protected] and I will send them direct. You might be able to clip off the end of a nail and make it fit into the hole, but the correct pin should be easy to find.
 

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It is important that you do not stop the rudder from kicking up, by drilling any holes in it. The reason for the kick up rudder is in case you run aground or beach the boat. Yesterday I was sailing my Capri in the Harbor and got to close to the shore and just about the time I heard something draging, the rudder flipped up, therefore not doing any damage to to it. Had the rudder been fixed in the down position, I would have broken it. The center board is also designed to kick up when beaching the boat, or getting into water that is to shallow.
 
Rudder Won't Stay Down

That's what I'm missing. That's exactly what my hardware looks like minus the pin. I tried putting a nail in there like you suggested but it wasn't quite thick enough and was sheered off when I tried to move the handle. The piece of nail shot across the garage. To compound my problem and maybe why the pins not there now is the handle and bolt are frozen together. I don't know if salt water got in there and seized it up or someone put locktite in there when the pin fell out. I'm going to the hardware store and I'm going to look for a new pin and a bigger screw driver! You say the pin is split? Is it split all the way down the middle? I can't tell from the picture it's split.
 
The pin is hollow and is split on one side, that is so it will jam into the hole. If someone put loctite on it, the only way you are going to free it is with heat. Maybe a hairdryer? Don't melt the rudder!!!
 
Cold roll pins.

The pin is called a cold rolled pin or drift pin. They are available in many, many sizes and are available at all good hardware stores. Go to the nut and bolt section and above their bolt bins they usually have rows and files of boxes with special fastners. That box section is where you look. Ray
 
I had a similar stuck screw and tried for weeks to get it apart. Finally, I cut the sides off of the pan head screw with a dremel and cutting wheel. It was then that I saw and removed what was left of the pin. I still needed to put a wrench on the now squared screw head to get it apart.
 
I put some heat on it with a butane torch and it finally loosened up. I couldn't find a pin so I ordered the part from Catalina Yachts. The pin now comes welded onto the bolt. Everything is working well now. Thanks all for advice. Happy sailing.
 

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