When I dropped the rudder on our 34R, I had to dig a hole to allow for the long shaft. I dug a two foot deep hole and setup a long lever (2 x 8) and fulcrum (sawhorse or a short ladder that is slightly higher than the bottom of the rudder) to accept the weight of the rudder before removing the top pin and rollers that carry the weight. I strapped a boat cushion on the lever to catch the edge of the rudder tip. I pushed the lever down to raise the rudder a little and weighted the lever end with a five gallon pail of water. Then I climbed up onto the boat and took apart the roller thing. Back on the ground, I could easily control the lowering to expose 90% of the shaft and stop it there with the weight again, so the hull still held the shaft end. I then moved closer to the rudder to guide it when it came free from the hull and laid it down onto a tarp spreadout beforehand on the ground. I did it all solo and possibly used my own weight to help the rudder drop the last few inches. My rudder is heavy because the SS shaft is a large 3" diameter and very thick walled. It's probably a little over 100#.
BTW, I removed the rudder to check for crevice corrosion and drill the fiberglass shaft in the hull and install grease fittings in the delrin bearings. Worked great; removing all play in the system. I also ground out the fiberglass around the shaft and resealed the joint with epoxy. Anyway, putting the rudder back in needed a second person and I used the same 2 x 8 lever and cushion and I steered the shaft into the hole while my helper worked the lever. My helper also kept the weight on until I could re-assemble the pin and rollers. That was in 2007. Chuck Scheaffer, 1989 C&C 34R Resolute, Pasadena, Md > On March 14, 2020 at 8:41 PM John and Maryann Read via CnC-List > <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > > > When we rebuilt our rudder several years ago, it did take removal of > quadrant, doughnut nut and some jiggling to remove. Had 2 strong folks > helping which was a real plus as the rudder was water logged and heavy. Much > easier putting the rebuilt dry and much lighter rudder back in. Good advice > to bridle the rudder to prevent a crash to the ground > > > > John and Maryann > > Legacy III > > 1982 C&C 34 > > Noank, CT > > > > >
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