A. J. Matthews, Ay Mon, #605

I have not messed with my rudder post, but I have serviced my pintles and gudgeons. If you do not tie up the tiller (amidships) when you put the boat away (as previous owners of Ay Mon were guilty of), the rudder will work and wear out your hardware. This is especially true with waters heavy in silt and particulate matter, kind of works like sand paper.

With better than 1/16 - 1/8 of play in my pintles and gudgeons, I was left with the thought of recasting the parts ($500-600 for the pair). However, one of my fellow club members (DIYC) recommended a machine shop that refurbished the pairs at a cost of $118.00. WHAT A DEAL!

The fix was accomplished by drilling out the old pins on the pintles and the old holes on the gudgeons. A bushing with the proper hole size was then inserted into the gudgeon (the OD of the bushing was the same as the ID of the drilled out gudgeon) the bushing was then welded/braised onto the gudgeon. Then a new and proper pin whose OD equaled the ID of the hole on the pintle (which is equal to the proper pin size) was then welded/braised onto the pintle.

The result? A rudder that is tight and doesn't make noise. In fact, I had to learn how to sail the boat again. It just didn't feel right (or wrong even though it was the norm for so long).

If you do not have a machine shop that you trust or will work with you, let me know. The shipping cost would be worth it.

Rob Squire, Head over heels, #96

I had some play in my rudder gudgeons and used Teflon to make bearings to solve the problem. That was 8 years ago and still no problems with the bearings.

Mark Parker, All Ways, #516

Here's an even simpler/cheaper solution to the pintle/gudgeon problem. Buy a pair of Schaeffer ss pintles with 1/2" pins. Drill out your gudgeons to 5/8" (don't drill all the way through - leave a 'lip' at the bottom) and insert 5/8 OD x 12 ID nylon bushings - less than a dollar at your local hardware store. The nylon prevents any worry about corrosion from ss vs bronze and takes all the wear. They are cheap and easy to replace when worn.

Jim Wyant, Tambu, #74

To expand on Mark Parker's (All Ways, #516) excellent recommendation on s/s pintles and bushings ...

In addition to the Schaefer s/s pintles, use Schaefer's Nomex bearings too. The bearings are integral to Schaefer's keelboat gudgeons but can be purchased as replacement parts directly from the company (508) 995-9511, Part # 25-0047, $4.75 ea.

Not only are these designed w/ characteristics specifically to work w/ the s/s pintles, they have a shoulder which serves as a proper thrust bearing for the vertical load of the rudder -- keeping the s/s pintles and the bronze gudgeons "happily" separated both mechanically and electrically in the process.

Richard Loerky, KAI VAI, #573

This worked great for KAI VAI:

1. First of all, I noticed "chatter" at high speeds. Checked & found wear as described.

2. Block board from bottom/sides so that pintle is roughly centered in worn hole.

3. Make a sleeve out of wax paper that is the diameter of pintle, but longer. Seal with tip of hot screwdriver, soldering iron or some such thing.

4. Slip this sleeve over the full length of the pintles.

5. Using a West type hypodermic syringe pump a nice thick mixture of filler into empty space between pintle & gudgeon.

6. Go sailing! The wax paper will simply wear away with first few rudder movements. Did this 2 years ago & still holding. Good luck!

Mark Palamara, #399, Hummingbird

I have just gone through the search for rudder hardware replacements. I was not successful in finding "off the shelf" heavy duty hardware. I searched the web, checked the boat equip catalogue companies including BOAT/US special purchase dept and marine suppliers in Annapolis, Md and the Hampton Roads, Va area with no luck for fittings for boats the size and weight of the Triton.

I had pintels and a rudder head and shaft fabricated at Moon Engineering (MECO) in Portsmouth, Va. The shop foreman's name is Joe Miller. Their phone number is 757-393-3000. They have a website at www.mooneng.com. I am just completing this project (picking up the rudder shaft on Tuesday, 10-31-00 with plans to install the new rudder and shaft this weekend) so the work is still fresh in their minds. They will quote prices based on your specifications.