Paul:
I’m sure there are archived e-mail discussions about this – it’s a relatively common topic. The problem with knowing how to respond is that various model boats have different rudder configurations. On my 42 Custom, for example, a little bit of fore and aft play developed over 45+ years. In remedying the issue, we discovered a number of interesting things: 1) overall, the design (Rob Ball) was excellent, especially the ease with which an emergency tiller can be attached; 2) the rudder post “rollers” (for lack of a better term) and the deck ring they roll on were bronze and therefore subject to wearing over time; 3) the rollers were oriented front and back instead of side to side, which we concluded was less than optimal; 4) the deck ring had developed a slight indent on the front where the forward roller would rest when the rudder was positioned to drive straight; 5) the rollers were not the same size, which we at first attributed to decades of wear; 6) I communicated with Rob about this when he was alive, and he said there was no way one of the rollers would wear that much; 7) when we removed the deck ring, we discovered evidence that the deck hole for the rudder post was originally cut in the wrong location, repaired, and repositioned (presumably at the Bruckman shop when the boat was first built); 8) whoever did the repair/refit did not position the rollers correctly to contact the deck ring at the same time (the forward roller contacted the ring before the rear roller) – they were probably leveled when the rudder was in the wrong position before the repair/refit; and 9) based on our observations, we concluded that whoever did the repair/refit put a smaller roller on the front to compensate for the leveling error, which is not the right way to do it. To address these issues: 1) we replaced the bronze rollers with stainless rollers; 2) we replaced the bronze deck ring with a stainless deck ring; and 3) my repair guru properly leveled the new deck ring with the new (and same size) rollers using West System with colloidal silica. The rollers now ride as they’re supposed to on the deck ring, and the rudder no longer has noticeable fore and aft play. Before we discovered the construction error, our original plan of attack was to work on the bushings, which in my case are glassed-in fiberglass tubes. Glad we didn’t do that. Matt C&C 42 Custom From: paul.hood via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: Saturday, November 4, 2023 11:43 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: paul.hood <paul.h...@rogers.com> Subject: Stus-List Sloppy Rudder post removal Inquiring for a buddy who has a 1979 C&C40 mkii His Rudder post is sloppy and we're dropping it out today. Has anyone done this? Does anyone have fabrication knowledge, drawings, part suppliers, suggestions to fix, etc? Paul Hood 416.799.5549 C&C34 Refuge - Georgian Bay
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