Rudderhead

[Philthy_Phil]

Hi,
One of the flanges that tightens the collar of my ruddehead is snapped off and missing. Anyone know where a good resource for a replacement rudderhead is? There must be some of these laying around somewhere, don't really look forward to having one custom made.

[osirissail]

What's a "rudder head?" Are you talking "quadrant" or "Tiller" or upper bearings or what?

[Philthy_Phil]

The rudderhead attaches to the top of the rudder post. It connects to the tillerhead which attaches to the tiller.

[Boracay]

In the good old days (BC - before computers) bronze fittings were made by the same people who cast propellers. They had wooden patterns which were pushed into sand and the bronze was cast into the sand cavity. Sounds crude but worked very well.

So I'd suggest asking the propeller people in your area if they can do something. They probably still have the patterns.

Other than that the people who break up old boats. Maybe even a wanted add on ebay?

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by Philthy_Phil

The rudderhead attaches to the top of the rudder post. It connects to the tillerhead which attaches to the tiller.

- - Sounds very ancient. I once visited the British Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England and they had complete models of all the ancient wooden ships. There were a thousand different little and some big pieces of carved wood that comprised the hull structure. And each little piece had a specific name. The keel alone had over 20 different named pieces.
- - Anyway, a good metal shop should be able to weld on a new flange or at least fabricate a collar that surrounds the old collar to hold it in place. For more specific recommendations take some photos and post them. A picture is worth a 1000 words.

[James S]

Can you post a picture?

[GordMay]

You might find some help at:

Cal Yachts Online
➥ Cal Yachts Online

Sailing old Cal Yachts homepage (lots to wade through)
➥ Sailing older Cal Yachts homepage
➥ sailboats, Cal 29

Cal 2-29, "Mariposa"
➥ Wilkie's Cal 29 Sailboat Page

Or search Cal Boats (built by):
Jensen Marine
Calgan Marine
Bangor Punta

[Philthy_Phil]

Heres some pics:






So there is supposed to be a bolt that goes through to the busted off piece and tightens the rudderhead to the rudderpost. Without it, all the stress is on the bolt.

[Boracay]

How about having a stainless steel strap made up (maybe in 1.6mm 316) that goes around the fitting with a couple of bolts to tighten it. You'd probably have to grind off the remaining lug and replace the through bolt with a longer one..

If there is a small machine shop near you they may be able to do it.

[osirissail]

- - Good photos! The Rudderhead is a stainless steel casting that slides down over the top end of the rudder post and has a split cut into the bottom part - Yes? No?
- - The 2 "ears" allow the split lower portion of the rudderhead to compress around the top of the rudder post to be squeezed tight around the rudder post - Yes? No?
- - Assuming - yes to the above - Welding on a replacement "ear/tab" would be difficult as the welder cannot get to the inside "seam" of the new "ear/tab" to fully complete the weld. Unless - the new "ear/tab" is located about 3/8" to 1/2" away from the existing ear/tab. Then the welder can get the welding rod into the gap and complete the weld. This would be an easy job for a stainless steel welding shop to fabricate the new "ear/tab" and drill a hole in it, then weld it to the Rudderhead. You wold have to use a stainless bolt long enough to pass through both ears and then use a lock washer and a stainless steel "ny-lock" to tighten the Rudderhead to the rudder post. Be sure to use "Lanacote" or "Tufgel" on the new bolt threads.
- - An alternative fix would be to have the split in the Rudderhead welded shut. Then drill and tap 3 holes in the portion of the Rudderhead that fit over the rudder post. Use 1/4" hex-head stainless bolts (like set-screws) to clamp firmly the Rudderhead to the top of the rudder post. This stops any twisting or rocking motion of the Rudderhead that would put shear pressure/wear on the existing through-bolt. If you look at the standard transmission to propeller shaft "flanges" you will see this kind of thing. It would be good idea to carefully drill a 1/16" hole horizontally through each bolt's head to accept "safety wire" that would prevent the "set-screw" bolts from loosening over time. That is why you use hex-head bolts rather than normal set screws.
- - I would prefer the 2nd solution of "set-screw" bolts rather than a new "ear/tab" for the reason that trying to squeeze a stainless steel casting is not easy and puts too much tension on the "tab/ear" weld. If the Rudderhead was made of Bronze then squeezing would be easier. But it would depend upon the thickness of the metal that captures the top of the rudder post. The thicker the metal the more difficult it is to squeeze.
- - This is not a difficult fix. I would be choosing a "fix" that will eliminate the problem from re-occurring in the future.