Delrin rudder cam screw

Hi All,

Tried earlier but the post never made it...

This is a really great forum!

I just acquired a '79 H16 and the rudder cams are stuck solid. I have been trying to free the plunger from the top but...

Wonder if it would be OK to replace the 3/4x10 Delrin screw with same size brass or SS. Seems like proper maintenance would keep it from siezing.

Any thought?

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'76 Hobie 16

hmm , is the old delrin screw corroded in place or can it be removed ? ..........

I'm in the process of replacing / rebuilding my starboard cam set and lower casting.

When I bought my 85 hobie this year, the starboard lower casting had fused to the rudder pin, which wasn't a big deal until the lower gudgeon snapped off on a beam reach ( not fun limping to shore on one rudder btw ).

I managed to get the boat home and in the following days I had to cut the rudder pin from the upper gudgeon and toss the casting. I ordered a new "used" casting online which turned out to have a type of hollowed out delrin screw that had fused to the casting ( like a tunnel from each side where the cam hinges from ) So, I drilled it out and later realized that I had drilled too large of a diameter for a standard delrin cam screw to fit. I bought a couple similar sister screws from Lowes , but they just wouldn't sit flush to allow the upper casting to come down properly.
So, now for plan B. Ordered a new ( used ) casting online, ordered a new delrin screw from Murrays, and will be rebuilding that cam set, along with adding some nylon washers to tighten up the rudders to the lower castings.
I am so done with these damn casting configurations lol ...

Try spraying some silicone spray around the plunger and let it sit for a while. If that doesn't work, you can always use something like a "liquid wrench" spray to try to break the spring free that's below the plunger, and the replace the spring and plunger after you get it out.

I would not try to unscrew the bottom plastic screw if you don't plan on replacing it. They can get very stubborn and tear up. I would maybe try to unscrew the delrin pin ( if it will ) and remove the cam, then try to free the plunger and spring. Hopefully that will help identify what needs to be replaced, if anything other than a good lubrication ( non-oil based / not wd-40, as that is based from fish oil )

keep us in the loop, cheers !

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'99 WAVE
Gulf Breeze, FL

_________________
Raise your sail one foot, and you get ten feet of wind.
起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的。 -- Chinese Proverb
William D. Latinette @ Latrobe, PA, USA w. H14 Turbo X 2... [email protected]

Thanks folks,

I was able to pop the cam up and get it all greased and oiled but it's still pretty stiff. At least the rudders can be locked down now.

I plan to keep oiling and working with it for a while. If still bad, I'll get a couple of overhaul kits and do it right.

Ed

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'76 Hobie 16

The cam needs to be somewhat stiff or it won't hold the rudder down. You cannot unlatch it with your bare hands.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUUA7l6fzIk[/youtube]

This might help.

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Sail Revolution
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The rudder cam replacement video and also the Delrin tension screw video should be moved to the FAQ. Seems to come up once or twice a month.

Hows the best way to heat the screw driver blade to get it hot enough to melt into the delrin screw? What's worked for some of you guys that have successfully pulled this off.

Thanks,

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

Propane blowtorch

A word of caution...that Delrin screw has a hole in the center that makes a great pilot hole to easily drill it out with a 5/8" wood bore. Once you plunge a hot screw driver into it (and if that method doesn't work) you've mangled the hole up. It might be kind of risky to then have to drill it as a last resort, get it off center and screw up the aluminum threads.

Thanks Fellas,

As Jed Clampet (Buddy Ebson was an avid catamaran sailor) might have said, I'll have to cipher on this one for a spell out by the cement pond. I just bought a drill press for my new pair of H14 blades so I don't really want to buy a propane torch just yet.

Matt, I read your H14 article in the Hotline. Very timely for me. I'm going to attempt to drill the holes to get the rudder rake as you suggest. Before I snapped a rudder, I had a lot of weather helm. My thought is to drill out the hole for the lower casting using the top of my old blade as a template. Attach it to the boat, then lock down the upper casting and hold the blade so that the rake is right per your article. Then I can mark through the hole in the upper casting to drill out the blade in the right spot to get proper rake and make sure the cam will engage. How's that sound to you guys? I really appreciate your advice and the effort you put forth to help others keep this sport and our old boats alive.

Thanks

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

_________________
Raise your sail one foot, and you get ten feet of wind.
起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的。 -- Chinese Proverb
William D. Latinette @ Latrobe, PA, USA w. H14 Turbo X 2... [email protected]

That's the way to do it. It's best if you have help - once of you holds everything together tight, while the other drills the holes (drill part way from one side, then the rest of the way from the other side - or partway on one side and finish on the drill press).

Thanks for the compliment, but I didn't write the bulk of that article. All I did was edit together two old tuning guides and updated them for the stuff that's gone on the last few years.
Thank Wayne Schafer and Bob Curry.

Never knew Buddy sailed cats, but know that he did race Thistles in SoCal, pre-Hillbillys

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

There was an old Hotline article, mid to late seventies, maybe early eighties, about Buddy and his sailing and art. He also dabbled in oil painting. His biography, The Other Side of Oz, is a great light read and he talks about his sailing habit. In 1968 he raced a 35-foot catamaran in the Trans Pac, won his class, and raced it again in the 1969 Isle of Wight race. He served in WWII aboard a destroyer. My, how this thread has taken a turn.

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28