Irwin 24 rudder

[pelican]

Hey, this is George Pingeon and Daniel Vizzini from New York City. We own a 1968 Irwin 24 located at the World Fair Marina in Queens, NY. We kept the Pelican in the water this winter and somehow our tiller is pointing backwards, which means that the rudder post is twisted 180 degrees! This means that the framework inside the rudder has probably corroded and broken off the shaft, although miraculously the boat steers pretty well. Anyway, before we take the whole thing apart and reweld the frame, I was wondering if anyone had advice about this kind of operation and this rudder in particular. It's a skeg mounted rudder. I think the rudder post is bronze... Thanks!
- George and Daniel

 

[Joseph Shirley]

Oops! I wrote a quick answer and it was wrong. I hope you didn't see it before I removed it. Your assumption may be correct; but I would suspect that if the welds, or the attachment of the rudder to the rudder post was severed to the point of reversing the tiller 180 degrees, that you wouldn't be able to steer with it. Are you sure someone isn't having fun with you by reversing your tiller?

http://www.irwinyachts.com/aft-cockpit_files/I24/I24p3.jpg

Good Luck Joe S