My first M17 back in the early 80's had that sliding rudder ss rod
Jerry started out using stainless steel rods on the M17s. There was a problem with galling so he moved to silicon bronze. later he moved to aluminum bronze (stronger and stiffer than stainless and no crevice corrosion problems). the alum bronze supplier 'dried up' and Jerry went back to silicon bronze. -- :: Dave Scobie :: former M15 owner - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 11:14 AM, Thomas Buzzi <thomaspbuzzi@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Rick, Bad moment that. Glad you didn't damage the transom. I added a third gudgeon to the middle to match the pintles on the used IDA rudder I bought and used a sturdy backing plate inside the boat. I do believe I will pull a hugh hole in the transom before anything else gives. I have rigged lines and clam cleats on the fore and aft edges of the rudder blade so I can raise and lower the kick up part from the boat. The lines lead through a hole in the tiller so by pumping the tiller up and down I can use it as a third class lever. The gizmo gives me a lot of mechanical advantage. My first M17 back in the early 80's had that sliding rudder ss rod incorporated in it and that worked well although I always worried that before it slid up to protect the rudder it would jam in the gudgeons and damage the transom. It would take a very smooth, gradually rising bottom to gently force that rod device to work properly with the rudder. Really like this site. Full of neat ideas and advice. Fair winds, Tom B