by s vernon » Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:42 am
Neil,
If you do need to cut the old rudder tube out of the boat, Tom P did it on his latest boat by taking a brass tube that will just fit over the existing rudder tube and filing a sort of tooth pattern on one end, then chucking it in a drill and (with no deck or a hole in the deck) slipping that tube over the existing rudder tube and cutting away thru the blob of epoxy and the hull. Know what I mean?
You will end up with a slightly oversized hole for a new rudder tube, which is what you were hoping for anyway.
Of course no one but Scott the Hun would ever consider putting a hole in their deck for access. humor
If the top does not fit against the bottom of the hull it has to still be better than trying to use the old undersized rudder. I put a homemade (for a 95 Standard Robin) rudder on my old relic and the top angle is not the same but it is still a much better rudder than the original.
Thank you, Tom
Scott