All, my hollow tube that the rudder rides up and down on parted from the threaded end fitting at the bottom. I did not know they could do this and did not even pay enough attention before this to realize that it was not a solid rod with a threaded end. My top Grundgeon (sp?) is not aligned very well and tends to stick so it makes sense that this parted when I hauled up on the rudder as we approached the beach. I have made a mental note (which is about worthless with my memory) to take a drill down next trip to the marina to get the top Grundgeon better aligned. My question is whether I should try and epoxy the threaded end in or are all these just press fit? I did not have this set up on my 1975 M-17 or M-15 but it appears that it was standard on models that are now made and has been for quite some time so I figured there may be a large group of M-boaters with experience on this. Thanks Robbin M-23 and M-10