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dropping the rudder

Terry Davis

New Member
I have to take the rudder down to pull the shaft out and replace it.
I just want to make sure that after removing the packing nut and loosening the gudgeon at the bottom, the rudder should come out.
Is it a 1 man job?
I assume I have to dig a hole.

I could not find a thread answering those questions. Thanks for the help.
 
Terry

The rudder is heavy, but one man can do the job with the right equipment. I purchased two 1/2 ton chain falls from Harbor Freight. Secured to the cockpit winches, and a heavy strap under the rudder, the chain falls work great. Here are photos.

Jim
 

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It is heavy. Get help. I would recommend you get a jack or a platform of some sort to put under the rudder as you remove the bolts. They are long and you don't want to bend or break them. Yes, you have to dig a hole. On most boats, the bronze bolts on the gudgeon are covered over with fairing compound that needs to be removed to access the bolt heads. I have never dropped my rudder; I let the yard guys do it. Others on the board have dropped their own.
 
I did it just with a line from the cockpit winches to under the rudder. Getting it out with one person wasn't too hard. I needed help getting it back in.

Make sure you have enough room to drop it.
 
Here is a thread from when I did the job with lots of pictures.
 
Was able to drop mine with no digging. Boat was blocked up with 1 foot under keel and about 22 1/2 inches under the rudder.
I also did like Warren with lines from the cockpit
 

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Nope. I had the haul out diagram from this forum in hand while they were hauling it out. That block is well forward of the holding tank. Not sure about any haul outs in the 40 years prior to me getting the boat but so far no signs of the tank top problems.
 
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