Rudder Stop? (Pintles - Gudgeon diagram) 20' Oday

[chipleak]

I am a new owner of an Oday 20 (1975) and reading thru rigging, launching, trailering tips...with a question...

The tiller/rudder overall in good shape when I noticed some rusted holes between the pintles.... It appears that at one point, a "rudder stop" (stainless) was installed during manufacturing.

I was not familiar with this, the part was missing, so I filled the holes with epoxy and touch up paint...

Can anyone show me a diagram of the parts, alignment, and how a "rudder stop" works when inserting the pintles? How does the rudder stop "lock" and then release"

I'm thinking I can buy a similar part at West Marine and adapt for use.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Sunbird22358]

Well, although I don't think I've heard of this style rudder stop being used on a boat as big as an O'DAY 20 (my Widgeon had the remains of one), my guess is that the rudder stop was a thin strip of stainless-steel, bent as shown below, screwed to the rudder and positioned so the upper tip would catch the underside of the upper gudgeon with the rudder In place. The rudder could be removed by squeezing the end of the rudder stop towards the rudder, releasing it from under the gudgeon. When mounting the rudder the stop would easily slide past the gudgeon and then catch the underside to prevent the rudder from lifting off.
Most boats like the 20 instead use a hole drilled in the upper pintle to allow inserting a cotter pin or "hitch-pin" below the gudgeon. That was how the rudder was retained on the pintles of our old CAL 21 and how I keep the rudder on my DS II (both were from the factory setups). I have seen pictures of how the stainless-steel strip type of rudder stop worked, but can't locate them now.
One other option, some boats use an "L" shaped metal piece (screwed to the transom above the pintle) that will swing out of the way of the pintle to allow removing the rudder, but will swing down over the pintle preventing the rudder from lifting.

 

[chipleak]

Sunbird22358 Thanks a MILLION!!! This is a perfect explanation and even better DIAGRAM to explain the pieces and options I can use or fabricate to accomplish this function! I LOVE this forum!

 

[Brian S]

My old 15' Harpoon daysailer had such a stop as illustrated by Sunbird, except it was mounted to the transom. Majority opinion was not to trust it. I always rigged a tether. The rudder and headstock on that boat were heavy. If I capsized and that stop let go, I would have been in for some extremely expensive refitting. Of course, the day I took the boat out for capsize testing, it worked perfectly, no tether needed. Better safe than sorry. I've also seen the pivoting L. I think I had it on one of my GP14s. I didn't trust that much, either...

My 192 has the cotter pin through the end of the pintle setup Sunbird describes. I have the pin tethered, though it typically is handled only twice a year: first to install the rudder and launch the boat, and second to retrieve the boat and remove the rudder. Also, I don't plan to capsize the boat, either, but that one gust last year which put me over far enough to ship water over the cockpit coaming was certainly "exciting."

 

[jeffmcgee]

I have a 1976 20' O'Day and it shows no sign of a stop,but I would recommend at least a cotter pin through a hole drilled through the section of the pintel which is exposed below the gudgeon. Rudders are not the item to lose or replace without headache.

 

[ciscovt]

I just sold my 1974 O'Day 20 this Summer. It had the exact spring steel rudder stop depicted in the diagram posted. You might want to check with Rudy at D&R Marine to see if it is still available, but a quick look shows that they list a "safety pin" for the rudder

which at least implies drilling a hole in the rudder pin and clipping this in to keep the rudder in place.

Ciscovt

I have a 1976 20' O'Day and it shows no sign of a stop,but I would recommend at least a cotter pin through a hole drilled through the section of the pintel which is exposed below the gudgeon. Rudders are not the item to lose or replace without headache.

 

[Capt James]

I just sold my 1974 O'Day 20 this Summer. It had the exact spring steel rudder stop depicted in the diagram posted. You might want to check with Rudy at D&R Marine to see if it is still available, but a quick look shows that they list a "safety pin" for the rudder

which at least implies drilling a hole in the rudder pin and clipping this in to keep the rudder in place.

Ciscovt

My recently acquired 1974 O'Day 20 has what appears to be the original stainless strap (pictured) which does not
seem to be very trustworthy in the event of a capsize, considering the weight of the rudder/tiller assembly. I think the safety pin through the pintel would be an excellent idea.

 

[RussC]

Not sure if the above photo is a proper OEM part or not, but I certainly would not trust it either. The stop on my Capri 14.2 works very well, and is in good condition, but even so I still use a pin in the lower pintle as a safety measure. the nice part about the spring clip is even if I forgot to place the cotter pin in the rudder I doubt that I'd know about it until re-loading the boat on the trailer. designed well, and in good working order, they do function very well.
In order for this type of retainer to really be effective it needs to reach vertically right up to the base of the gudgeon, and have spring tension against the pintle. otherwise it would be hammered right out of there in short order. cotter pins can fall out, or forgotten and don't get installed to begin with, so it's nice to have a functioning spring clip also.