HAVE YOU
HUGGED YOUR
RUDDER LATELY?

by Terry Moss    (November 1997)

1765 Scorcher

Following an interesting discussion on rudders at a recent ISCA meeting I attended, it occurred to me that this might be a good time of the year to suggest that you take a good took at the condition of your rudder.

For wooden blades it is important that all nicks and dings be repaired by filling with epoxy, sanding and if needed, re- varnishing (a varnish with a U.V. blocking agent is recommended.)

Older wooden rudders, and especially the sweptback, spade type (narrow at the waterline and wide at the tip) should be inspected very closely. If the rudder shows signs of delaminating (most of them were made from plywood) and has been getting heavier each year, there is a good chance that moisture has entered the wood fibres. This being the case, you need to establish if repairs can be made or whether you want to run the risk of the dreaded Loss of control at some critical moment (it always happens that way!) when the rudder breaks just below the Lower pintle This is not the recommended way to reduce your rudder weight!

A close inspection should also be made of the pintles especially the Lower unit. Look for fractures or cracks in the pintle straps around the bends and welds. They are due to cold working metal fatigue and will be accelerated if the pintles are continuously flexing under load (signs of the rudder blade being overloaded).

In the gudgeon area, it might be a good idea to replace the fixing bolts These too can fatigue and may Let go at the wrong time (this is never a right time!). Replace the bolts one at a time, this should maintain the gudgeon alignment.

If you have bronze gudgeons and the pin hole is badly worn, (not a safety issue) you might want to have the gudgeons bushed or b) replace them with Shaefer 81-43 gudgeons. What I like about these gudgeons is that they are stainless and they use 4 bolts per gudgeon (a plus is that the 2 outer holes match the holes in the bronze version).

If you have any questions on the above, please call me at (705) 534-7168.

Happy steering