Rather than perpetuate an already bad idea, I completely disasembled my
factory rudder and kept only a few of the original pieces. I kept the lower
blade minus the pivot ear (which I sliced off) and the tiller. The two
aluminum cheek plates that reinforced the hinge are now an end cap in the
form of an inverted U, cut and welded together and bolted to a stainless
angle bracket (L). I welded stainless sail track cars to the back of the L
bracket. I further chopped the ears of the pintles off, one side a little
longer than the other, bent the long side over and welded it closed. From
the top looking down each pintle resembles the letter A minus the legs. A
1.25" x 4' sail track holds it all together (pintles tapped and bolted to
the narrower part of the track. The rudder slides up and down on the sail
track and the stopper of the car keeps it where I want it.
I used another sail track slider welded between the two SS flanges that hold
the tiller. Although I lost the hinge ability of the tiller, now I just
pull the spring pin and lift the tiller off the vertical sail track.
The final mod wat the mast crutch that I chopped off the lower two thirds of
and notched the lower end of the remaining portion to fit snuggly over the
end of the track. The weight of the mast keeps the part from falling off,
but I secure it to the boat with a tie-down strap anyway.
Jim Tietjen
P19 #1015 Sevushka
Huntsville, AL