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PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 8:33 pm 
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Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2005 2:15 pm
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Location: Oakland, CA
For years my starboard rudder wouldn't work properly. When the wind was 18+ it wouldn't stay locked down, upwind or downwind. I took the slop out of the pins and gudgeons and that seemed to fix it, but not really, so I just lived with it for a variety of reasons.

Then a much better sailor than I found the problem - a broken Rear Inboard Support Casting, Part #61040001. This casting is found inside the rear crossbar which allows the inboard bolt to attach the crossbar to the hull. With the casting broken, the bolt would not secure the crossbar to the hull well enough, and this caused:

1. a cracked crossbar
2. my rudder problem

The way to check the casting's status is to remove it by removing the crossbar and the drilling out the rivets securing the crossbar end casting.

The best explanation for the broken casting is overloaded wings. My boat has wings and the wing anchor plates are riveted near the Inboard Support Casting, and overloading the wings puts stress on the casting which may crack it. So let this be a lesson to sailors with wings, and check your crossbar for stress cracks.

The crossbar has been replaced but the boat is put away for the season so I will have to wait until next season to be sure the errant rudder problem is solved.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:55 am 
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Location: Jersey Shore
I really don't see any reason why the broken rear crossbar would effect the operation of the rudders.

Sounds like you probably need to adjust the cam spring setting and/or the rake adjustment.

sm


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 10:27 am 
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We'll find out next season, srm. But a crossbar cracked at both sides of a point of connection with the hulls and a broken casting may cause the flex which causes the rudder to kick up.

Also, I didn't want to bore the readers with what I have already done to fix the problem.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:37 am 
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Location: Jersey Shore
Skipshot wrote:
But a crossbar cracked at both sides of a point of connection with the hulls and a broken casting may cause the flex which causes the rudder to kick up.


Regardless of what the effect was on rudder performance, I would definitely inspect the hulls very carefully at the outboard connections to see if there is cracking. Sailing with effectively only the outboard bolts in place would have put a lot of extra torque and load on those connections.

sm


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 12:55 pm 
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Location: Oakland, CA
The cracks were on both inboard connections and the only way to see was to disconnect the crossbar, and the culprit is suspected to be overloaded wings. In any case, I will be more careful about inspecting those connections in the future.

It is also advised to inspect and tighten the crossbar connections during the sailing season, which I didn't do and may have contributed to the cracks.


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 4:41 pm 
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Location: Jersey Shore
What I'm saying is you should look up under the hull lip at the crossbar connections to look for cracks. Since your rear crossbar was essentially only being held to the hull by the outboard connections, that means the outboard edge of the hulls was potentially seeing a lot more load than it normally does. Make sure the hulls aren't cracked.

And yes, you should check your crossbar bolts (all 8 of them) a couple times a season to make sure they stay tight. You should also be sure to use anti-seize grease when you install the inboard bolts.

sm


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 05, 2013 9:07 am 
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Update: The starboard rudder stays down with the new crossbar.


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