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 Post subject: Broken Rudder Casting
PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:22 am 
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Location: Naples, FL
Had a great day sailing Saturday but when I was coming into shore one of my rudders locked back down and I failed to notice it before I hit the beach and then snap! I broke the lower aluminum rudder casting. I realize maintenance could have avoided this but I keep it on the beach a it's a little more difficult to do and a little to late...

I'm wondering if anyone has tried to fix this. Because cast aluminum is so much softer than your 6061 I don't think it would be very strong afterwords unless it could be braced. There is a set of old style rudders on thebeachcats site for $350 that I am looking into but was just curious if anyone had tried to repair a break like that.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:09 am 
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Location: Jersey Shore
I've seen it repaired before temporarily.

I was racing a 20 many years ago and one of my competitors clipped my rudder going around C mark and the casting broke like yours (I think the break may have been below the rudder pivot bolt). He gave me one of his castings and took my broken one and spliced it back together with a piece of 1/4" bar screwed onto the outside of the casting. He drilled and tapped holes in the casting for the screws. It worked fine and he was out on the water the next day racing again. Would I want that for a permanent repair? Probably not. But it might be a workable solution until you find a replacement casting. Perhaps have it welded first and then brace it with some bar.

$350 for a set of old-style H18 castings seems a little excessive to me.

As far as preventing the castings from breaking, there are a few threads on the forum about how to set up the castings to stop this. I've written a bunch about lubing the roller, setting the spring tension to minimum, and using bungee to hold the rudder down. I also keep my boat on the beach (surf sailing) and the rudders kick up fine. But you need to keep the system maintained.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:08 am 
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srm wrote:
$350 for a set of old-style H18 castings seems a little excessive to me.

sm


I agree, that is steep. There have been plenty of guys that have replaced the old style with the new style that you should be able to find a set. Have you tried the Pre Sailed Parts Store? You will see their ad in thebeachcats.com parts classified section.

Good Luck and I still use my old style system and it works great. Just keep it maintained.

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:44 am 
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I tried to use a repaired lower rudder casting, and it did not work. After the casting was welded it was a little taller that the original casting, and made it very difficult to lock in.

I ended up doing the conversion because I could not find a replacement. I still have the one unbroken old-style lower rudder casting if you want to buy it send me a PM.

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:57 am 
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If your still looking there is one on ebay right now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280921157442_tr ... IT&vxp=mtr

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:44 am 
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I have a set of old style 18 castings, they can be bought for 150 bucks plus shipping.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:34 am 
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just have it repaired w/ a weld. I've broken mine and the repair has held.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:14 am 
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Location: Naples, FL
Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up getting it welded because I needed it quick and to see how it would work. I had the welder put it back together with the pin in it to keep it's shape and he put some supports on the sides. It seams to be holding well but doesn't unlock very easily even after I rebuild them as described in other posts.

Since then I have gotten a replacement as a backup but I'll keep on working on the original one to see if I can make it better.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:10 pm 
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FunkyWalker wrote:

Since then I have gotten a replacement as a backup but I'll keep on working on the original one to see if I can make it better.


I had a 1981 H18 and broke multiple old-style castings, usually when coming in through good surf when the rudder refused to kickup. I had a couple welded and bought one or two replacement pieces.

Then one time the rudder failed to kickup and instead of breaking the casting this happened. After that, I spent the money and upgraded to the new style castings. Your call.

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