Limited steering with the rudder up

[rorr1203]

I went out and took a couple of shots of the engine to shot the different turning angles. A little difficult to see difference, its got to be plus 20 degrees.

Engine with tiller to starboard:


Engine with tiller to port:

[Ron]

Bob -

The last photo of the rudder box clearly shows what's happening. Earlier ones did not. Moving to the inner hole on the rudder arm probably won't help. Moving the tiller linkage to the inner hole also won't help. I'm thinking four things now -

First - the wall could be a little higher on your boat. A dremel tool would solve that. Make any cuts smooth if you go this route.

Second - the tiller and rudder are going a little too far at full lock. My boat is down in Florida so I can't take a look at what, if anything, stops the rotation. My linkage does NOT hit the wall, so there could be some mechanical stop somewhere in the system that's missing on yours.

Three - there could be a missing washer under the "L" shaped quadrant, which has caused it to be a drop too low. thereby allowing the linkage to hit the wall.

Four - the tiller and rudder are both not really centered as a system. Sort of like a car where the alignment and steering wheel are both off enough that the car seems to track straight, even though the steering arms and tie rods themselves are not centered. The incorrectly installed steering wheel would then go further in one direction. Noting that there are several links in the system, something similar could be happening here.

I would look at options 2, 3 and 4 before I broke out the dremel. This could fix a problem rather than cover it up.

[Graham]

Hi Bob and Ron, Maybe it's my eyes and the angle of the photos, but it looks like Rons Rudder Quadrant is mounted higher than yours? If you look at the top of the Stainless rudder post it seems to be sitting higher than Bobs when the rudder is down. At first I thought Bob photographed the photos with the rudder not fully down but looking at it the rudder is fully down or the angle of the photograph is misleading. Bob could it be that the bolt holding the rudder in place was misdrilled and should of been drilled higher? OR.. has the bolt hole elongated from use and the rudder assembly dropped? If the rudder assembly is lower because of the above it would certainly show a problem when you tried turning the rudder. If you can, check the height dimensions against another boat. Graham

[Ron]

Bob -

Didn't see it until now. The shape of the rudder well IS different. Notice the walls - mine has a gradual curve running from the hinge bolt holding the rudder in place to the widest point of the well. Bob's is straight at the rudder bolt, then a 90 degree turn where it flares out. Mine looks wider, but the newer version seems to have been strengthened (more glass). You may need the dremel. But first try putting a washer or two under the quadrant to lift it maybe 1/8 inch. I'd also try to find out if there are any missing mechanical stops in the system.

[rorr1203]

Ron / Graham, I think I fixed it. At least it is better than before. I was crewing for John Enderle on Bay Wings in the Baltimore Leukemia Cup Race last weekend and got an opportunity to check out his rudder well. The walls on Bay Wings are about 3 inches lower than the walls on @ Last. Take a look at the picture Ron posted on August 28th and compare it to the picture I posted on Sept 12th. With the rudder down you’ll notice that the top of the post in the head of the rudder on Tri Power is several inches above the rudder well walls where on @ Last the post is almost even with the wall.

So this past weekend I shaped a wedge about 2 inches deep out of the well wall to allow the linkage to pass beyond the wall allowing me a sharper turn when the rudder is up. I also did a little fine tuning on the linkage to make sure all the parts are as centered as possible. And like Ron, I added a couple of washers to the top of the shaft holding the quadrant down as it tended to rise at certain angles.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Now on to my next task of figuring out how the make the rudder easier to pull up and down.