Robert R. Kerr Carrollton, Texas
Boat Name: Serenity
Model/Year: C-22, 1987
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Lake Lewisville |
09/05/2006 7:11 PM Pacific Time
I have a 1987 Catalina -22 with a Kick-up Rudder for the last year when ever I have good way on and really footing the Kick-up Rudder seems to be rising regardless of the pressuer on the plates. I checked and it seems that the recommended approach is to place 2- 6" dia. disks made from water approved gasket material, 1 on each side, between the side plates and the fin. The problem I am having is getting the blasted thing apart.
Before I take the 10 pound sleg to it could some one tell me how to get this thing apart. How can you replace the fin if you cannot get it apart?
Thank you for your assistance
Rudderless in Dallas
Bob Kerr |
Paul David Melbourne Australia
Boat Name: Reflections
Model/Year: 1986
Hull No. 13369
Hailing Port: Melbourne Australia |
09/06/2006 2:17 AM Pacific Time
Bob - Dunno if this helps but once you have your rudder apart, have a look at the photos in
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/c22_photos/detail?.dir=7353&.dnm=9a29.jpg&.src=ph
Mine is there and it's been rebuilt with a wider compression disk. Below the plate, the rudder is surfaced with a non-skid.
Paul |
Paul David Melbourne Australia
Boat Name: Reflections
Model/Year: 1986
Hull No. 13369
Hailing Port: Melbourne Australia |
09/06/2006 2:23 AM Pacific Time
Bob - Another thing. It's possible your bolt has galled and you'll need to cut it off. No need to break anything, just cut off the bolt and insert a new one. Best to look at my rudder before going to the trouble - mine has a bolt but also has a long, custom made lever that's used to tighten the compression disks.
Paul |
Aaron M Benham 33a Loomis Hights
Boat Name: Tidely-Idley: The never ending project
Model/Year: 1978 C22
Hull No. 8070
Hailing Port: |
09/06/2006 8:01 PM Pacific Time
The blade is held in the casting by that one bolt that runs through the two locking disks. The reason that you can't get it apart is that corrosion has welded everything together. When I took my whole casting apart, I had to drill some of the bolts out and retap the threads because the heads sheared off in the process. You only need to remove the one bolt holding the blade in the casting. To do that, you need only three things; a good penetrating lubercant (I used Tri-flow), time and brut force. The bolt will come out even if you have to cut it and pound it out. The locking disks (those two hemispherical pieces that the bolt runs through) also come out and may need some coaxing ( I needed to use a hammer and cold chisle to brake the corrosion and get them loose.) Don't damage them in the process as they are made of soft metal. Also, replace the nut and bolt and retap the threads in the locking lever no matter how you get it apart and use good quality stainless.
Braking the hold that the corrosion has on the metal parts alone may fix the problem. But when you remove the blade, you might find that the prongs on the locking disks have worn grooves in the rudder blade. You will know what I am talking about if you see it. My guess is that this is caused either by overtightning or more likely by kicking up the rudder without loostening it enough first. To repair the grooves, I filled mine by first grinding the grooves then filling them with fiberglass cloth cut to the shape of each groove and epoxy. The end result is truly fixed. The washers might work and I might even use them to see if they prevent the problem from reoccuring.
I did not use a 10 pound sleg to get mine apart. But I did use an 8 pound engineers hammer, an impact screwdriver, and an angle grinder. But mine was an extreme case.
Good luck |
Bilbo Youngstown, Ohio
Boat Name: Sea Dog
Model/Year: Catalina 22 1987
Hull No. 13971
Hailing Port: Andover, Ohio |
09/10/2006 5:23 AM Pacific Time
Actually Aaron's descrription is pretty good but I thin that the 87 model is different. The blade has a ball shaped s.s pin.on one side, a few inches from the hemispherical locking disks. This little bump fits into a hole in the one Alumunim plate. What happens is that the plate gets a groove worn in it that is particularly bad right at the hole. This groove is inside of the plate against the fiberglass rudder. Some redrill this hole and use a piece of wood dowel. They probably keep a few dowels around incase one breaks off.
You can see this hole at the bottom of the photo of Paul David's
rudder assembly at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/c22_photos/detail?.dir=7353&.dnm=167b.jpg&.src=ph
. |
David F. Abilene, TX
Boat Name: Clair de Lune
Model/Year: 1976
Hull No. 6140
Hailing Port: Fort Phantom Lake |
09/10/2006 7:36 PM Pacific Time
Once you get it apart, what I did was take a 3-liter Sprite bottle, cut it up to fit around the front side of the rudder and wrap around. Glued it on with 4200 and cut out the hole for the bolt to go through. It's durable, just the right thickness for my needs and just about free.
Seems to be holding up well so far.
David |