Rudder Conversion Kit for Pre 1987 HC18's

Unfortunately the information above isn't totally accurate. I repair about 30 rudder castings a year for customers. I totally rebuild them.
See video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUUA7l6fzIk
And...grease liberally before I return them. All new boats come greased.

If a customer wants to fix their castings on the cheap, oftentimes a dab o grease on the cams surface will fix the problem. Dry lube works about as well as if you used it in a wheel bearing on your car (not that well).

At the beginning of the season, I recommend pulling the cam tensioner screw and wiping the old grease out to remove any contaminants. It's very easy to wipe out old grease and replace it and it ensures that your cams continue to function properly.

My boat sits on the beach all summer and I wipe it out every couple of months or so and apply new grease. Super simple, takes 5 minutes and a paper towel.



Dang man, are you using titanium? In the Hobie catalog they're $12...

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I had reason to remove the rudders from my '84 a few weeks ago so I pulled the cotter pins and tried to remove the gudgeon pins. No luck. They would not budge They seem to be permanently affixed to the pivoting part of the gudgeon. I ended up pulling the bolt that is the pivot for raising and lowering them.

Is there something else holding them or have they just been there so long they have welded themselves together? They both look aluminum so I'm surprised if they have reacted galvanically. What's the best way to free them?

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The ox is slow but the earth is patient

The cotter pin at the top of the rudder pin is all that holds the pin in. If the pins have not been removed in a long time, I could see them possibly getting frozen to the gudgeon. If they are aluminum, they may also be bent. First thing I would do would be to spray the pins liberally with liquid wrench or WD-40. You may have to do this for a couple days. Put vice grips on the pin and see if you can get it to spin at all, or possibly tap the pin up (gently) with a hammer to see if you can break it free.

Other options would be to try to remove the gudgeons from the boat, then you should be able to put the gudgeon in a vice and work the pin free with vice grips (if that's even necessary). However, there is a good chance that the screws holding the gudgeons to the transome are frozen which would open up a whole-nother can of worms.

Last option would be to cut the pin and then hopefully drive it out in pieces. You could probably fit a hack-saw blade between the casting and the gudgeon.

Definitely start with the Liquid wrench and a little force.

sm

I agree w/ the last post. I have seen this problem several times. I noticed from the origonal post that your boat is located in Florida. Can I correctly surmize that the boat is sailed in "salt water"? Alum and salt water is a corrosive situation ... Also alum is more likely to deform under a "shear load", I actually cut a rudder pin out that had a "square" shoulder bent/formed into it. Now you're lucky it is an alum pin as they are easy to cut!!! I took a hacksaw blade and made it "shorter" from top to bottom by grinding it in the middle on a grinding stone/wheel, I wrapped a little elect tape on either end so I could hold it. Then I just "worried" (slowly cut) the pin on either side of the gudgeon. Took me a little time, 5-10mins/cut. I still have the modified hacksaw blade in my sailing parts box.

Needle-nose Vise-Grips RULE!!!

Fix for Problem: 1) Murray's SS H18 rudder pins, they are hollow therefore stronger and lighter, and were cheaper then the solid/heavy SS Hobie pins. 2) Use the little plastic white bushings in the lowwer ruddercasting and rudder pin. Replace them often, thereby removing the rudder pins and preventing bonding. Note a trick that most of my friends and I do, is to install a 3/8 SS washer on top of the "top gudgeon" and the "lowwer alum rudder casting" between the two as a bearing surface to prevent the SS gudgeon wearing away the alum rudder casting, as the wieght of the rudder assembly pulls downward.

I try not to mess w/ the gudgeon screws unless they are loose ... It is a SS mach screw into an alum plate ... TROUBLE!!! Eventually on my boat I had to install "screw-in portals" behind the rear crossbar , new 1/4"thick larger alum backing plates, and through bolted the gudgeons w/ machine screws w/nyloc nuts ... as I broke gudgeon screws off.

Good Luck
Harry

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HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11