34 pilot rudder

[Sleeping Bear]

It seems my rudder is bent, probably the bottom pin(tle).

So I have to remove the rudder, has anyone done this?

If I jack up the rudder, it doesn't clear the bottom skeg, can probably force the skeg down, then would probably have to unbolt the whole stuffing box so I can pull the rudder to one side to drop it.

Again, has anyone done this?

Rod, Brava

 

[Sleeping Bear]

34 Pilot Rudder

Or, is the bottom pin removable from the rudder?

I see a picture in another post where there appears to be a set screw that maybe holds the bottom pin?

What is the rudder made of??

Rod, Brava

 

[oak]

The rudder, sand shoe and prop are all bronze. The sand shoe needs to be removed in order to remove the rudder. I believe the shoe is a guide for the rudder and not a support.

 

[Sleeping Bear]

34 Pilot Rudder

How do you remove the sand shoe? I see nuts in the bottom of the bilge, but to get to them would mean removing the prop shaft and being a contortionist as well.

Is the sand shoe through bolted into the bilge?

Rod

 

[oak]

How do you remove the sand shoe? I see nuts in the bottom of the bilge, but to get to them would mean removing the prop shaft and being a contortionist as well.



Is the sand shoe through bolted into the bilge?



Rod

Yes it is thru bolted, not easy but can be removed without removing the shaft. However while removing the rudder and shoe you might as well remove prop to balance and the shaft to check for trueness. Also note that if vibration is your issue I would look into the easy things first. Check for worn shaft zinc and any barnacles. The boat is very sensitive the even minor fouling and worn shaft zincs.

 

[sammy999]

Hello Rod, I just went thru this. While you are at it, check or change the bushing or cutlass bearing on the shoe where the bottom rudder pin goes into. Good luck!!

 

[Sleeping Bear]

34 Pilot Rudder

Thanks for the info Sammy, did you remove the sand shoe to get the rudder out?

Did you have to remove the prop shaft to get at the bolts?

My problem is that the rudder or the pins are bent, not sure how, but the symptoms point to that.

Rod

 

[sammy999]

The boat yard did the work so not sure the order of things. In my case they replaced the cutlass bearing so the shaft was removed. I believe you need to remove the shoe before dropping the rudder. Not sure if the shaft needs to be moved back to remove the shoe. Hope all is going well.

 

[Sleeping Bear]

34 Pilot Rudder

Still working on this planning.

The sand shoe seems to be bolted to another piece of metal that runs further forward, do I have to remove the long forward piece too or just the aft couple of bolts to drop the shoe?

Rod

 

[Sleeping Bear]

34 Pilot Rudder

After lotsa tought I decided to try removing the rudder with the sand shoe in place.

With the boat on the hard, I pushed the shoe down far enough to remove the pin from it then pulled the shoe to the side and dropped the rudder.

Sure enough the rudder was crooked, and the conclusion is that it was built that way as it is cast and pretty well un bendable.

Machine shop fixed that, and rudder went back in the same way.

Put water in the bilge to check that there are no leaks around the shoe attachment, and none seen.

Rudder now turns each way with no resistance.