Does the Rudder/tiller on a c-22 float?

[Brent Morgan Shallcross]

after a great friday evening on my c-22 Ripple i awoke to a violent storm at about 5 in the morning, the anchor seemed to be holding just fine and despite blinding rain and wicked lightning all seemed just grand,however i awoke saturday morning to find my tiller and rudder MISSING!!!I also noticed i had been blown a little closer to shore...my only guess is that when were blown in, the rudder was caught on the bottem pushed up and off the mounting hardware...Would this piece float? Catalina direct has rudders on backorder for 4 weeks!(hell it will be damn near fall by then!) If this piece sank it might be sitting in about 4 feet of water...just wondered if anyone has tested the sink or float theory with c-22 rudders..PS anyone have an extra rudder????

 

[Jay Beery]

Floating Rudder

Brent,I know my rudder would float like a rock! It must weigh 30lbs. I do think it is a little water logged. Your best bet may be to find a local dive shop with someone willing to do a little diving for you. I'm sure it would be cheaper in the long run. How close are you to Indianapolis?Thanks, Jay Beeryvettesrus@mciworld.com

 

[Aldo]

Reform the Stainless Steel Spring

I almost lost my rudder one time when it hit the bottom when we were trying to sail between two islands and it bounced off the bottom. (At that time I was using a copper wire as a shear pin to pin the rudder down. Now, I only use nylon shear pins). Anyhow, I recommend that you make sure that the little stainless steel spring that snaps under the gudgeon be bent to assure that it has plenty of preload on it. Otherwise, the rudder can just fall off if it touches the bottom. Since I have bent mine to add the additional force, I have never had it come off when it touches the bottom. I hope you find your rudder or one to use for the summer. Aldo

 

[Joe Voss]

Me too!

I left my tiller on my boat all night and came back the next day to find it missing, but my new outboard still there! so I ruled out the theft theory.After looking today for 6 hours with three divers we have given up. So where are we going to get are tillers from?