Loose Gudgeon

[Jim in TC]

No, this is not a medical condition prevalent in older guys. While at our farthest point in yesterday's sail, maybe 7 miles from port, and beating into 12-15 mph winds I noticed that the rudder seemed a bit loose. Since we had to weld a pintle back onto the rudder early in the season I feared the worst, that the weld had let go. But no, this time the gudgeon was wobbling on its 4 bolts.

We were able to tighten 3 of them with a socket wrench, while under way. The 4th just spun. A quick search of this site did not turn up advice on how to access the (assumed) nuts but it seemed likely that I could get to them with the tiller 'slot' (Bruce, you think it may be called a "horn" though I can't find that term either) off. I got it out with some considerable difficulty and sure enough the bolts are easily accessible there. I took the opportunity to put a larger washer on each, and replaced the lock nuts (nylon bushing type).

I mention all this because I am not sure exactly how these loosened, except maybe 1) one of the lock nuts failed and that started enough movement to loosen others or 2) over the years (this is a 2006) the transom material simply compressed enough to get that movement.

Either way (or whatever other explanation there is) it looks like another spot on the boat to check out from time to time. Since 3 of 4 tightened without pulling that piece out it could save a bunch of work, and one would certainly not want the whole thing to pull itself off the boat while out there...

Pix show what I am talking about and some of the tools (wrecking bar -!- not shown).

[bruce]

Good catch. I'm guessing the 3 nuts didn't spin because they were stuck in sealant. One way to ensure you could always tighten the bolts from the outside would be to install a backing plate, itself an upgrade, tapped to receive the 4 bolts. I did that when I remounted our adjustable motor mount, so I wouldn't have to get to the nuts again. They give us a little 6" deck plate for access, my arm doesn't bend that way.

On the PC, the transom is cored with 3/4" plywood, so making sure the bolts are well sealed is important to prevent rot. I'd assume the SC is the same.

[Bilge Rat]

Thanks for sharing this. Good to know how to access these. I've heard it's difficult to remove the "horn" but looks like you were able to do so.