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Bill Braun & Christine Sammel
Evanston, Illinois
Boat Name: Da Doo Run Run
Model/Year: 1989 Catalina 22
Hull No. 14840
Hailing Port: Wilmette, Illinois |
 06/06/2006 10:29 AM Pacific Time
We just bought hull #14840 and are "enjoying" working out all the kinks with a new-to-us boat. Two questions:
1. When we hung the rudder, we noticed some that it was not held tight to the transom. The pintels and gudgeons seemed to be secure, and the locking mechanism was there so the rudder wouldn't float off. But when we finally took the boat out last evening, the play in the rudder was a bit disconcerting. You can wiggle the rudder maybe 1/8-1/4 inch. Seems safe, but is it?
2. Mounting the tiller was a job -- the bolt and nuts are all there and are working fine -- the problem is with the heavy metal "struts" that go from the aft end of the tiller to the hole in the rudder. We had to push and push to get those struts around the front end of the rudder, and it's so tight that we cannot lift the tiller at all, a condition we're not happy with. Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Christine and Bill
p.s. If you feel like giving more advice, see our additional problem under "Sails", titled "Roller furling too hard to furl."
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Michael Smalter
Webster, NY
Boat Name: Marrakesh
Model/Year: 1986
Hull No. 13645
Hailing Port: Rochester, NY |
06/06/2006 5:57 PM Pacific Time
My rudder has some play in it also. If the pintles and gudgeons are all tight, and there is no excessive wear, don't worry.
As far as the tight fit for the tiller, I had the opposite problem. The metal plates were too loose a fit on the rudder head. I found that a wooden paint stirrer or yard stick was just about the right width and thickness to use as a shim. You could try sandwiching one between one of the plates and the tiller and see if that makes it better. |
R. C. Luiken
Milford, DE
Boat Name: Ricochet
Model/Year: C-22 Swing Keel/1986
Hull No. 13560
Hailing Port: Milford, DE/St. Michaels, MD |
06/07/2006 7:58 AM Pacific Time
Is it possible that the tiller straps are on the wrong sides of the tiller? |
Michael Smalter
Webster, NY
Boat Name: Marrakesh
Model/Year: 1986
Hull No. 13645
Hailing Port: Rochester, NY |
06/07/2006 3:01 PM Pacific Time
OK. I'll bite. Is there a step bend in the tiller straps or are you joking? |
R. C. Luiken
Milford, DE
Boat Name: Ricochet
Model/Year: C-22 Swing Keel/1986
Hull No. 13560
Hailing Port: Milford, DE/St. Michaels, MD |
06/08/2006 4:12 AM Pacific Time
My tiller straps are not absolutely flat. I don't know if it is from figting weather helm by the PO or what, but there is a definite bend in them. I think that the bend is somewhere around 1/8" |
Dick King
Melbourne, FL
Boat Name: Twilight Zone
Model/Year: Sport/2005
Hull No. 15546
Hailing Port: Melbourne, FL |
06/08/2006 5:52 AM Pacific Time
Christine and Bill - There should be little if any play in the pintle/gudgeon connection. It could one of several things, causing the problem. Wear in either one or the other, you have 1/2 inch gudgeons and 3/8 pintles, or 1/2 inch gudgeons tha USED to have plastic inserts that are no are no longer there. Let us know if none of the above is the culprit and we can do some more guessing.
As far as the tiller straps not fitting the rudder head, it has been my experience that different C22 rudders have different thicknesses. Also tillers are different thicknesses. I wanted to use my old tiller (equipped with a tiller extension insert) on my new Sport. I had too much play in the connection. So I sanded the sides of the tiller until the tiller thickness matched the rudder head thickness. I was off just a little and now the tiller fits so tightly, that it is difficult to get on and off. If your tiller is thinner than the rudder head, insert a thin shim between one of the tiller straps and the tiller. Select the thickness that gives you the feel you want. (Loose enough to lift the tiller, but not to the point where you have a lot of play in the connection. You only need to shim one side.
Hope this helps. |
Bill Braun & Christine Sammel
Evanston, Illinois
Boat Name: Da Doo Run Run
Model/Year: 1989 Catalina 22
Hull No. 14840
Hailing Port: Wilmette, Illinois |
06/12/2006 10:39 AM Pacific Time
Thank you, all, for your suggestions.
We shimmed one of the tiller straps, and now the tiller lifts and lowers like a charm!
The looseness in the pintles/gudgeons is another story. We lifted the rudder off to do our measuring. Result: pintles 3/8 inch, gudgeons inside holes 3/8 inch. That was as close as we could get to measurements and, indeed, there is perhaps only a 1/32 inch of play there.
We don't know if the arrangement where the pintles attach to the rudder itself is standard but that's where the looseness is occurring. The pintles go through strong metal straps with holes attached to the front of the rudder, with the length of the pintles long enough below those connections to fit into the gudgeons.
Here's where the play is -- the pintles are 3/8 inch above and below the rudder attachments, but reduced in size where they go through the rudder attachments. There might be 1/8 play at those points. We examined the pintles closely and they seem to be strong, as are the rudder connections, so we don't know whether to be worried or not.
Any ideas?
Thanks again. |
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