I just received the new rudder blade I purchased for my Montomgery 15 from Bobby Chilek at Bobby's Boat Works and it is really great. Our old blade I think was original with the boat built in 1986. It had split top and bottom and had a run-in with a propeller at some point along with a number of other bruises. Recently I had filled all the various divots in it but have never been satisfied with the result. The new blade is nicely shaped and finished, is a little wider than the old blade, and its pivot hole is in a slightly different spot. All in all, if you're thinking about a new rudder blade, I'd recommend Bobby's. Fitting the new blade in the rest of rudder assembly got me to thinking about the condition of the aluminum rudder cheeks (I guess that is what they are called) and what I can do to rehabilitate them. The issue with them is primarily wear in some of the holes in the aluminum, most significantly the pivot hole for the rudder blade. The pivot hole in the aluminum cheeks had significant wear and, a few years ago, I bushed them with some sort of metallic bushing, probably a brass or bronze (the wood of the rudder blade had some play too that I improved with epoxy and re-drilling the hole). Those bushings have worked well reducing the play in the rudder assembly but, over the years, the dissimilar metals of the cheeks and the bushings have developed signs of corrosion. In addition to issues with the pivot hole, upon close inspection, I see the front mounting holes of the bottom pintle are also showing signs of wear. At this point I am wondering if a good treatment for these worn holes in the aluminum cheeks is to weld them over and re-drill them and wondered if any in this community has insights about this idea. I'm thinking some 1/8 inch doublers welded over the welded-over existing pivot holes, welding over the other worn holes, and then redrilling all these holes might be a good way to put more life into those old cheeks. So, my questions: I don't know much about welding, but does this approach make sense? Is there anything I should know about the particular aluminum used for the existing cheeks, the particular aluminum to use for doublers, or the welding materials or process to make this approach most likely to succeed? I realize the doublers could only be welded on around the edges leaving water a place to get between the cheeks and doublers if it got in through some sort of welding flaw. Should I be concerned about this possibility? If so, would it work to develop the additional thickness by welding new material onto the cheeks with no doublers? I assume a local welding shop could handle the welding part. Does that make sense? As always, thanks for any and all feedback, information, and ideas. David GrahBishop Calfornia