Suggestions for a low gudgeon?

Hi all. As you will see in the images below, it appears that the gudgeons on my recently acquired Laser were installed a bit low. It is causing the tiller to rub on the surface of the boat and wear away the top layer. After a full season last year, I noticed that the tiller wear was worse, but not as bad as i would have expected after a lot if use. It was seldom used for many years before I got it.

In looking at other lasers, I see their top gudgeon sits right under the gunwhale. Mine is just over a quarter inch down.

I don't want to try to raise the gudgeons as I fear it could cause more problems than it will solve. This boat is built very solidly and is in perfect condition for a 1994 Laser.

Any suggestions as to how I can minimize the rubbing on the top layer? My tiller is the original wooden one.

Thanks for any suggestions.
JB
 

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I don't want to try to raise the gudgeons as I fear it could cause more problems than it will solve.
What would those "more problems" be?

Just go ahead and reposition them. Not only is the upper gudgeon way too low, it's visibly off-centre as well.

_
 
Thanks for the reply. The photo makes the lower gudgeon look off center but it's not.

I'm just not one to drill new holes into things that I have no experience messing with. I'd rather leave it as is and mitigate any further rubbing if possible. The new holes would be fairly close to the original ones so I don't want to mess it up.

I do have a place here on long island that could probably do it though.
 
I've seen this on several boats through the years. Never realized it was due to incorrect placement of the gudgeons though.

These are screwed into wooden backing plates so I think you can simply fill the old holes with glass, sand and paint. Then just drill the new holes and re-mount them with calk.

Do you have access to other boats to see the average height positions?
 
Thanks for all replies. I'm not concerned about legal or not, I just sail for fun.

I will have a look at your suggestions.
 
Interesting about flipping them not legal. I did it on my old Laser but didnt have to go through any major certifications..

One thing I will say though is that my steering got a lot nicer after they were flipped and the rudder was a bit higher. I highly recommend forking out the relatively small amount for some brand new gudgeons then.
 
The issue is very often with the base of the tiller being worn leaving to excess slop and wear of the deck etc. also check the grudgeons for excess wear.
 
I have just replaced my worn gudgeons, luckily a quick job to screw them into the original screw holes. They cost £9 which has to be a bargain.
I can’t believe the difference it made to the rudder position, lifting the stock by about 2mm and therefore altering the tiller angle, which now clears the centre cleat and moves freely to steer the rudder.
 

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