Chrysler Sailors Forum

Hi all, I've been reading on this site for a few months. Thanks for all the good information. I have recently purchased a Chrysler 20 and am working on restoring it. I'm in the process of removing all the deck hardware in preparation to fill numerous holes, sand prime and paint. I have disassembled the rudder and tiller but cannot figure out how to remove the rudder stock from the boat. I removed the screws that I thought were holding the top of the rudder post in but it's still stuck. The boat is on a trailer. Any help would be appreciated. I'll definitely have more questions coming. Thanks.

Welcome aboard ! Not sure if the rudder post assembly on the C20 is the same as on the C26, but the 26 has 2 fittings - the tiller head at the top of the post and a collar where the rudder post goes thru the cockpit floor..it is a long post, so you may not have enough clearance to remove it on the trailer...

Thanks, yeah I think it just has the collar but it seems to be stuck and I don't want to pry on it and damage the fiberglass around it. Any ideas. I think you're right about it not coming off whlie on the trailer, I'm going to somehow jack it up or have it lifted off the trailer and remove the keel at that time as well to paint with POR-15.

Welcome aboard,

You might try soaking it overnight with some WD-40 then place a piece of wood on the end of the post and lightly tap it with a hammer, be careful to hard could damage the plastic/fiberglass or flare the top of the post. Patience and persistence will be the key to getting it apart without damaging anything.

Thanks, I'll try some wd40, nice job on your website, was wondering how you lifted the boat to remove the keel.

Welcome Nunya!, I'm not much help yet. I just procured my C-20 at the end of June and am totally in love with this boat after only two outings. Sadly all I've had time to do is wax the hull so far. I have a small divot to repair in the shoal keel fiberglass and some interior decorating to do also, but that'll keep til next season. Good luck with yours. You have some great sailing to look forward to. Please post some pics if you get a chance. We all love illustrated success stories over here!

I'll try and post some pics soon, I've got alot of work to do before we can sail, interior has rotten wood from standing water, damage to keel, lots of other stuff, plus not much time to work on it. Thanks for the replies, glad to hear everyone speak highly of C-20's.

Hello and welcome,
I owned a C20 for sometime, you will enjoy the boat. Maybe crawl aft to inspect the thru hull mount beneath the cockpit just to make sure someone in the past hasn't made some modification. Other than that the post assy should just slide on out. I always backed the back of the boat over a ditch line to remove and install the rudder, Faster and easer than jacking.

Ditch line very good idea, that will save me some time If I can get it apart.

Another Chrysler work boat. Thay were made for the fun of sailing. How much is a restored C-20 worth, Not Much I bet. If you like working, try sailing it is a lot more fun.

Don't know if it will help but when I removed the rudder from my C 22 I ran into the same problem. The collar was aluminum and the shaft stainless. The two have a tendency to become stuck over a period of time. I tried WD 40 and other lubricants, penetrants, and heat, also used a large hammer and block a bit. The final solution was that I had to cut the collar off and replace it with a SS collar when I went back in with it. Not sure, it has been a while, but I think I used a Dremel to avoid damage. Good luck with the repairs.

Thanks, I'm hoping not to have to cut it off obviously, im gonna try pb blaster and some hammers and wood blocks.