I still don't quite understand how to respond correctly to the grouped together emails that I get, if this is the wrong way let me know. I had the same exact looseness of the tiller you're describing. I have a 1974 C&C 30 Mk1. For me, the cause of the problem was that the hole on the rudder head for the 1/2" bolt that attaches the tiller bracket to the rudder head was egged out. You could see it had physically gotten oval shaped. I couldn't just tighten up the large bolt because if I did the tiller would no longer pivot up and down when I needed to stand up and hold it or tie it up out of the way. I tried a few unsuccessful things like packing the hole with epoxy or trying to build a sleeve that went around the rudder head. What I ended up doing was drilling out the rudder head and the tiller bracket to accept a 5/8" inch bolt. The tiller bracket was pretty easy, I just used a drill press. Drilling out the rudder head was much more difficult. My boat was in the water so I couldn't remove the rudder head. I ending up taking the hardest piece of wood I could find (a scrap chunk of oak I had) and drilling a large hole in it that fit snugly over the rudder head. Then I flipped the wood over on the drill press and made a 5/8" in hole to bisect the large hole as close to the center as I could. I then put the piece of wood over the rudder head and used the 5/8" hole as a guide to keep my hand drill going true through the rudder head. The results were pretty good. It significant reduced the slop in the tiller. It's not perfect, but a whole lot better. Collin1974 C&C 30 MK1LibraBaltimore MD
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