the rudder slides up/down the rod. my M17's rod isn't all the straight, but no 'crazy' bends, and the rudder moves up/down fine. there should be a line that goes from the deck-to-transom joint, through a hole in the rudder, and then to the cleat that is on the transom. to raise the rudder pull the line and then hold rudder up by securing line on the cleat. picture of the setup can be seen on my M17's www-site in the home page's banner. more detailed photos can be provided if necessary -- :: Dave Scobie :: former M15 owner - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com On Fri, Aug 22, 2014 at 9:53 AM, <swwheatley@comcast.net> wrote:
New M17 owner looking for some guidance on how the rudder is supposed to go up and down. Specifically, is the rod supposed to remain stationary relative to the gudgeons while the rudder mounted fittings (I hesitate to call a pinless fitting a pintle) slide up and down the rod? Or is the rod supposed to slide up and down in the gudgeons while the rudder mounted fittings remain stationary relative to the rod? My boat came to me rigged per option 1, but the least little bend in the rod or misalignment of the fittings makes it virtually impossible to raise the rudder. I've seen photos on-line of M17s rigged per option 2 and that seems like it might be a less fussy arrangement.