Mike, I think the bushings came from McMaster-Carr or Grainger.
I was afraid that if I screwed this up, I either wouldn't get rid of the clunk, or the rudder hinge pin would bind in the gudgeons and make it difficult for me to turn the rudder. Here's what I did, obviously overkill: 1) I have a spare set of used gudgeons (I think they're cast bronze, originally chrome plated?) that had the same problem. I was having both sets modified at the same time. I was careful to mark the gudgeons that were originally installed so I reinstalled the same ones. I also marked the orientation in which they were installed (top/bottom), so I was sure to reinstall them the same way. 2) I brought the whole hinge setup to a local machine shop - the gudgeons, the hinge pin, the mating parts that mount to the rudder, etc. That way they understood the function of the parts, and what I was trying to accomplish. I also provided photos of the mounted rudder. They mic'd everything up so I knew where I was starting, anyway. I probably had about 1/8" slop, and no way (at that time) to determine the original diameter of the hole in the gudgeons. 3) They made some rough sketches, we agreed on the work, and I turned them loose on the job. 4) The machine shop used flanged bronze bushings. I think they were about 1/8" thick all around, which allowed them some material to remove. 5) They had to open up the hole in the gudgeons to make it round again, and also took some material off the top. While you would think this weakens the gudgeon somewhat, you are actually restoring the strength of the hinge by tightening up the fit of the hinge pin to the gudgeon. 6) They turned down the outer diameter of the bushing to suit the hole in the gudgeon. The bushing was pressed in with a slight interference fit. The flange was oriented according to the worn surface on the original gudgeon. 7) They bored out the hole in the bushing to suit the pin, and they faced off the bushing flange. I think we agreed that the bushings would be bored out to provide 0.030 or 0.060 clearance with the hinge pin. I guessed that this would get rid of the clunk but ensure the rudder wouldn't bind. 8) I reassembled it all on the boat, without any sealant, to see how much movement I had in the rudder and ensure nothing was binding. Satisfied, I then reassembled everything with sealant, elastic stop nuts, etc. The hinge pin was installed the whole time to ensure the gudgeons stayed aligned. Before I took this on last winter, I got the input of several listers who did this job before me. Some used plastic bushings, etc. You can probably find the thread in the archives. One last thing: the boat I just salvaged had no play at all between the hinge pin and the gudgeons. So if I were to mic up the holes in those gudgeons, that would tell what the factory fit was. Mark ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike Hoyt <mike.h...@impgroup.com> To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Sent: Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:19:12 -0000 (UTC) Subject: Re: Stus-List Rudder Re-build/replacement now transom hung MArk Where did you get the sleeves for this? From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Mark G Sent: Monday, November 12, 2012 11:33 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Subject: Re: Stus-List Rudder Re-build/replacement now transom hung Rick, With a quick look I can't see any evidence of those holes, but they are probably covered over with crud and bottom paint. I did notice the bottom half is not entirely hollow. There are a couple strips of plywood stacked on top of each other running down the middle of the rudder, primary purpose probably to adhere the halves together. The salvage rudder seems to want to split at the seam, but of course, it underwent some serious abuse which is why it's broken in half. Those holes would allow the rudder the drain when the boat is hauled, but they would also allow it to fill with water when the boat is launched. That would take care of the buoyancy issue. When I sleeved the gudgeons last year, I used flanged bushings. I was trying to figure out by looking at the wear pattern which gudgeon actually supports the weight of the rudder, the single upper or the lower double. There was some wear on most of the faces. I think the upper gudgeon supports my rudder when the boat is out of the water, but in the water, the rudder floats a bit and may be restrained by the lower double gudgeon. The fact that the rudder floats, combined with the slop in the gudgeons, is what lead to the constant clunking. With the sleeved gudgeons, the clunk is gone. (Now if I can just restrain that wire inside the mast, I might be able to sleep on my boat!) Mark
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