Thank you! I'll try the extra ummph tomorrow, along with a few other new boat chores.

From: "htmills@bright.net" <htmills@bright.net> Reply-To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com To: ">Mboats<" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Subject: Re: M_Boats: rudder Date: (No, or invalid, date.)

Hi, Dik

On BuscaBrisas, there are three gudgeons on the transom and three gudgeons on the rudder with a single pin(tle) running through them all. The lower end of the pintle has a slight turn-down to a smaller diameter to match a smaller diameter hole on the bottom transom gudgeon. Then there is a small hole for a retaining pin/ring. The three rudder gudgeons are all on top of the transom gudgeons and the rudder can slide up the pintle until the lower and middle rudder gudgeons strike the middle and upper transom gudgeons. There is a line that runs from the transom gunwale down through a hole in the rudder and then back up to a cleat on the transom.

If there is some misalignment, then the rudder takes some "umph" to slide.

Misalignment is sometimes a result of running aground hard. The pintle can get a minute bend in it and/or the lower transom gudgeon can deform some too. On my boat, the bolts holding the lower transom gudgeon in place are actually bent a little bit. A prior owner had run full tilt (5 kts) into a submerged tree that was hanging out from under a log boom and since I've owned the boat I've had a couple of lesser groundings. In the near future I'm going to be replacing both the bolts and the transom gudgeon. BuscaBrisas has a wet locker and I'll probably cut out the bottom of the locker to gain access to the bolts and then glass it shut again.

Hope this helps,

Tod Mills M17 #408 "BuscaBrisas"

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