High C Posted June 27, 2003 Posted June 27, 2003 A question to you wise mates. I'm using real pintles and gudgeons on my weekender instead of the long bolt arrangement in the plans. Should they be installed both the same way, so the rudder can be lifted off the boat, or one up and one down so that it can not be removed? It would be handy to be able to remove the entire rudder assembly, but I worry that it may float off. The pins are 2 1/2" long so it seems unlikely that it could do so, but I see no way to lock the rudder on securely unless the pintle/gudgeons are installed one up and one down. Thanks a bunch! Quote
Steve Tarry Posted June 27, 2003 Posted June 27, 2003 My old Santana had the pins facing the same way, so the rudder could be easily removed, and then it had a loose pin that locked it in place while in use so it didn't float off while underway. You can imagine what a pain that might be. Quote
Dave R1 Posted June 27, 2003 Posted June 27, 2003 They should indeed be installed to face the same way. Frequently one of the pintles has a longer pin than the other and should be installed on top. This makes installing the rudder easier as you can concentrate on getting that top pin in it's gudgeon and then work on the bottom one. Quote
TexasPhil Posted June 27, 2003 Posted June 27, 2003 You need something to prevent it floating away. I had them both facing one way (up) on the Skipjack M&M. The first time I let go of the tiller, to handle something else, they floated off. It was a royal pain to get it back on, while in motion! Quote
High C Posted June 27, 2003 Author Posted June 27, 2003 Thanks mates. I realize they do need to both go the same direction, and they need somethiong to prevert the floating off thing. I looked more closely at the parts I have and see that they are Schaefer's medium weight p/g and one has a 1.75" pin while the other is 2.75" to make it easier to get the thing on. They also make a spring lock that keeps the rudder from floating off. I can't envision how this works from the picture, but I guess I'll go pick one up and figure it out. Thanks! Quote
Charlie Jones Posted June 27, 2003 Posted June 27, 2003 Are you installing a wheel? If so, install the pintles one up, one down so the rudder can't be removed. Otherwise it's quite a pain to re rig the steering each time. If you are using a tiller, then go with them both the same way. By the way- I was through Slidell just a bit ago (the 14th)coming back from the TSBB BEER Cruise. Do you make the Wooden Boat show in Madisonville? We're gonna try to get there this year. Quote
High C Posted June 27, 2003 Author Posted June 27, 2003 Good thought Charlie, and I'm using a tiller, so both the same way. I had a boat in Madisonville the first 2 years of the show, a 1935 38' Matthews. And I will have my Weekender there this year. You know they changed the date to sometime in late October. Maybe I'll see you there! Quote
buck Posted June 28, 2003 Posted June 28, 2003 My tiller comes throught the transom and lazerette. I used stainless pintles beacause they are cheap (around$30 NZ) and very effective. I have a male & female one on each surface ( a female one at top of the rudder and a male one at the botttom, this also extends back and contains the bolt for the rudder blade to pivot on) The tiller is removeable. This makes it much better to remove the rudder for trailering. I have never had any problems with it floating off, in fact it requires a hefty shove to lift it off the pintles. But is very effective system for not much more cost. They are usually well engineered, I like the reliability compared with the eyebolt system. Quote
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