Rudder stem repairs done
Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2014 7:11 pm
Hello every one, I hope your sailing season is off to a good start. Mine is off to a slow start as I've been working on my rudder stem. On our last trip out last year the bottom rudder stem bushing broke and the side plates that were already cracked a little became warped out ward. Witch made the whole system feel squishy and whenever we crested over a wave and the presser on the rudder changed it would clunk. Not a good thing when your a couple miles off shore. We got where we were going safe, but I took a taxi to get my truck to avoid any real trouble on our return trip. I'm a machinist so I turned my self a set of spherical bushings. On my boat the bottom bushing had a spacer so I incorporated the spacer into the bushing that I made. To repair the pivot plates, I made a set of 1/8" thick plates and had my cousin tig weld them on over the original plates. This made them much stronger. Lord willing I'll be launching the boat this Friday and enjoying a nice weekend on the water. I would post some pics but I can't figure out how.
I also learned on that trip the meaning of the saying that gentlemen never sail to weather as my wife and oldest daughter both got sea sick, to their credit it was a bumpy ride.
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I also learned on that trip the meaning of the saying that gentlemen never sail to weather as my wife and oldest daughter both got sea sick, to their credit it was a bumpy ride.
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