Getaway rudder's pintle screws sheared off

Where the rudders attach to the transom I had exessive play. I tried to loosen the screws holding the upper pintles in place and broke them off. They had rusted together. I have spent two days trying to drill out the old screws and re - tap for new ones. Fruitless. Plus I now have a broken "easy out" in one of the holes which is hardened steel.

I talked to a local welder and he offered to customize my pintle with a new backside where I could mount 4 or 5 new screws through the transom. (pintle would be in the exact same locations) I would have to drill through the transom, tap the new holes and hopefully hit the backing plate. Does anyone have any idea what I'm dealing with inside that hull? I.E. Dimensions and location of backing plate, it's thickness, the amount of plastic between the plate and the outside of the transom. And worst case scenario is a thru bolt but is the plate accessible if I cut in a hatch to get at the inside?

Thank you thank you thank you for any advice,
Han

Han,
How did you fare with redrilling the backing plate. Ive always wondered what the fix would be if the brackets sheared off. A digital camera with zoom through the access port might give you an idea of the backing plate. I always try and manually unlock the rudders going to the beach to avoid the transom from flexing.
Lee

Jeff at Hobie parts was able to email me some pictures of the various styles of backing plates for different years. The earlier boats used a solid stainless plate with "nipples" that stick out of the transom. That's what the screws thread into.

I had a welder add on a larger pintle plate and make through holes in it. I then drilled through the transom and backing plate and tapped the holes. I put in three screws in a triangular pattern just below the old screw holes. I also epoxied the back of the pintle to the transom. That lasted about three sails.

I found that there is a space between the transom and the backing plate so that you can't tighten the new screws down without compressing the transom.

I've used a two part marine grade epoxie putty which claims to work on stainless and plastic and retightened the screws. They haven't moved in a week so we'll see.

My next plan is hull hatches to get into the back of the transom and new backing plates with through bolts. I have no idea what I'll find our why there is a space between the backing plate and the transom?

I'll keep you posted,

Han

The epoxy did not hold at all. So I installed two hatches to gain access to the back of the boat. Inside is a long narrow "backing plate" that the gudgeon screws into. There is a gap between the plate and the transom meaning that the custom screws I installed have nothing to tighten against, they just compress the transom. I used some of the hull material cut out for the hatches to make a wedge between the transom and the plate inside the boat and was able to tighten the screws. We'll see how long this holds.

Note: remove and grease your gudgeon screws often before this happens to you!

ps. the hatches are great and only took about an hour to install, if you don't mind taking a jigsaw to your hull.

Captain Han Winogrond, Sail Safaris Inc
Beach Cat rentals, guided tours and lessons
St John, US Virgin Islands
http://www.sailsafaris.net
toll free(866)820-6906 mobile(340)626-8181
[email protected]

I too tried to take the screws out and roke them off. I too had to cut a hole and mount a hatch, and I too had to make a new bracket and fill the void. I wonder though if there isn't some chemical bonding agent we can find to seal the holes? I intend to make a kit for I know the other side will start pulling out soon too, as there is nothing in there to stop it and then rake is an issue.

5200 will work fine for sealing the holes. I didn't do anything and the boat doesn't take on much water at all.

Curious as to exactly how you fixed your rudder pintles. Mine seem to be holding but it is not an ideal fix and would love to hear your solutions?

After talking to the dealer I am to bring the boat in before adding the new transom backing plates and or replacing the spaced out version from hobie. It seems the hulls have a two year warranty and maybe Hobie can help me resolve the problem. I am the first in my area to seem to have this problem and since the other side is also pulling through action is needed.

FYI
The new Hobie hatch with the screw type handle pull down is what I got for a hatch and it is great. I was able to see the bracket inside and determine deminsions for an aluminum plate to be placed in the "Socket" of the transom and sandwich to the outside a thinner plate to put through bolts into. This should take care of it if I cannot replace the hull. $$ is the key here.

I'll be the first to admit my boat handling skills are changing and I will try like crazy to make sure the rudders do not hit the ground when stalled in low tide as that is what pulls the rudders back and causes most of the pull out problem.

Just noticed my 3 year old Getaway rudder keeper( thin cable that holds the cotter pin) is all but broken off. Do you think I should try to replace this with original part thus having to remove one of the lower pintel screws or woould I be better leaving the screw alone and finding some other way of mounting the keeper. I dont realy want to get involved with breaking off a screw

Thanks

Craig NIelsen

I wouldn't mess with that screw. Try it gently and if it does come out great! It doesn't take much force to shear it. I would just throw another cotter pin in your pocket when you go sailing and forget about it.