" You have it right that the rudder slides up and down....and the pin stays put."
> I know I scratched my noggin over that arrangement when I first got the boat....but the PO had it set up the way it remains. Sounds like it may not be the correct method.... With my 17 the pin(or shaft) and rudder move and the only cotter pin is right at the top of the shaft above the upper rudder gudgeon. So to mount the rudder on the boat I set the rudders on top of the transom gudgeons and insert the pin from the top. Reeve the lifting line and done. When lowering the rudder the only issue is guiding the shaft into the lower transom gudgeon. Normally it is not too much of an issue....but I recently had to redo the middle transom gudgeon with a new spacer and rebedding. It used to be loose and made lowering the rudder easy enough. Now with the middle unit tight it takes some fiddling to line everything up. Tapering the shaft sound like the perfect fix to that issue. My main issue when we first got the boat was how to raise the rudder and hold it in place. For some reason the PO did not have the lifting line through the rudder and into the cam cleat. He may never have....I don't know. It took me a few tries to get that one....as simple as it appears now. I never admitted this before, but my 17 tried to eat me. The whole lifting rudder thing almost removed (another) a finger for me. Actually it was me, not the rudder....as you already guessed. The way the story goes is about the 3rd time out using the boat I was returning to the ramp in a large following sea. I have to raise the rudder quite far out as it shoals early. I had waited to the last minute to raise the rudder. While messing around with that and trying to steer.... and trying not to be pitched out of the boat, the poorly secured lifting line came loose and allowed the full weight of the rudder to slam down on my pinky. For some reason my right hand was on the transom combing just to starboard of the rudder. The top rudder gudgeon deflected off my knuckle and tore the flesh off the area from top to bottom. About the size of a quarter. Quite a messy deal. The height of clumsiness. I have a scar the rounded shape of the forward corner of the upper rudder gudgeon. It was a flap kind of thing so I just cleaned it up, and used lots of Band-Aids and it healed nicely. PUFF tried to eat me.....beware. Cheers, Tim. M17 # 369 PUFF...Carnivorous Model Kelowna BC -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Howard Audsley Sent: Monday, July 28, 2008 3:02 AM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: Re: M_Boats: Rudder mounting questions Sounds like you have it right. Odd that the rod will slide up and down to pin it, but the rudder will not. You have it right that the rudder slides up and down....and the pin stays put. Your rod may be bent. Take it out and roll it on a dead flat surface. Does it wobble or roll true? It doesn't take much of a grounding if the rudder is partially up to bend that pin. If the pin is still true, the rudder gudgeons may not be aligned right. When fully up, you should have well over a foot of road clearance. Maybe more like 15 inches or so. On Jul 25, 2008, at 3:24 PM, Carlos wrote: > Hello all- > As you know I am a new Monty 17 owner. I have a few questions (and > many more to come about other items!) about the mounting of the > rudder. I learned here that on my vintage Monty (1979) the ruder is > attached with a SS rod (supposed to be tapered at bottom end). It is > designed to "stop" at bottom end so as not to slide out (lower gudgeon > is smaller). A cotter pin is then used just below bottom gudgeon > (through rod) to prevent rod from sliding upwards. > > Dilemma: My rods ( I received 2 when I purchased) are not tapered and > my rudder and transom gudgeons all have the same diameter rod hole. > My rods have 2 cotter pin holes (with 1/8" of each other) at one end. > I am trying to slide rod down through gudgeons and attach 2 cotter > rings at bottom transom gudgeon (one above and one below). However, > once attached, rudder will not slide up and down on rod. It turns > smoothly but will not slide up/down unless I force it up while turning > it back and forth. I am placing top rudder gudgeon above top transom > gudgeon. Is this correct? I am thinking that the rudder gudgeons may > not be perfectly aligned (wood expanded/contracted) and this is the > cause. The rod slides through transom gudgeons without much friction. > > When rudder is sliding correctly and is all the way up the rod, does > it clear most ramps for launching/retrieving? > > Any thoughts on this arrangement? Am I installing correctly? Am I > missing something? > > Thanks, > Carlos > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.5.6/1577 - Release Date: 7/28/2008 6:55 AM _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
