gudgeon worn out

My gudgeons are pretty worn...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2BnffP9ZBY

Has any one replaced the 2 part ones ... with the one piece die cast.. is it easy??
or should i use the nylon bushing kit and drill mine out for over size rudder pins???
cheers ...

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•Present boat -1998 Hobie 16 Solana Sails furling jib[/size]

It may not be the gudgeon - it may be the pin.

You can't drill out the stainless gudgeons for oversize pins.

The cheap way to fix that (other than replacing the pin) is to fill the gudgeon with epoxy, then carefully drill it out on a press, leaving an annulus of epoxy on the inside. This method doesn't last very long, though.

Replacing the gudgeons with the one-piece cast ones is fairly straightforward. Most of the holes should line up.

I did the "upgrade" for the one piece gudgeon, mainly because I was missing a gudgeon when I got the boat. It is not an exact replacement. The bolt holes are off about 1/8". The screws will fit if you modify the new gudgeon. You'll need to drill out the holes to 5/16" and grind away the shoulders of the hinge so the pan head screws will seat fully (or find a filister head or hex key screw with a narrow head). Also the rudder castings foul the newer gudgeon and prevents full rudder rotation although its not a major issue. The one piece gudgeon is a European product and I think they use a different lower casting. If I had to do it again I wouldn't. It didn't really improve anything IMO.

thanks for your facts... this is the kind of feedback that makes this forum great....

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•Present boat -1998 Hobie 16 Solana Sails furling jib[/size]