Servicing rudder shoe

[JoeRobertJr]

Boat: Mariner 39 with skeg-hung rudder located in MD, USA.

I have the rudder shoe off in support of replacing the rudder. The shoe is in good shape, but it seems like a good time to replace the plastic bushing.

Questions:

• Where can I find a replacement for the plastic bushing? I am looking for a source recommendation.
• Is there a preferred type of plastic for use in salt water? Basic HDPE?
• When I attach the shoe to the stub on the skeg, I should seal that seam with something like 4200 or Sikaflex, right?
• Should I also put some sealant on the screw threads to help ensure water cannot seep in? Or Loctite?
• Is there any reason to not paint the bronze shoe with bottom paint as I do the rest of the bottom? Most (all?) pictures of shoes show them painted.

Thanks for your guidance.

[Orion Jim]

Best material would be POM, aka acetal, aka Polyoxymethylene. A replacement bushing can be easily made by any small machine shop or on a home lathe. The raw material is widely available on the internet or any brick and mortal supply house.
Most bronze rider shoes are faired into the keel with fairing compound which is then coated with antifouling, but this is not necessarily nor required.

[JoeRobertJr]

Thanks, Orion Jim. I saw acetal/Delrin mentioned in another thread and have a lathe at home, so I'll take a closer look at that option.

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by JoeRobertJr

Thanks, Orion Jim. I saw acetal/Delrin mentioned in another thread and have a lathe at home, so I'll take a closer look at that option.

That’s the way to do it, yourself. The material is cheap by the foot. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/ac...iameter~1-3-8/

[JoeRobertJr]

Update: My new acetal bushing is complete. I got the raw material from Grainger. My father-in-law made the bushing on our home lathe. It turned out well. Thanks again, Orion Jim, for the responses.