My 1st (project) boat

Phil Herring · Jun 6, 2014

Love this post. I hope you'll make our forum a regular stop.

Stu Jackson · Jun 6, 2014

Congratulations. Our first boat was a 1981 C22, #10496. While it's great to learn from posts here, I think what you'll find is that many of will guide you to respected reference sources, in many cases both internet resources and,, gasp!, BOOKS.

If you've been here a while, you may already know about the C22 IA as well as some of their members who have created their own websites and/or blogs about what they've done with their boats.

A superb book on boat repairs is Don Casey's This Old Boat, a true treasure trove of fix-it details. There's a third edition out now, but the 2nd edition would do you just fine.

Have fun.

Cope · Jun 6, 2014

Welcome Milk.
Good call on not buying the corvet..Ha ha im a MOPAR guy. (without the mullet)

That rudder looks kinda scary to me. It may even be toast....
If it was mine I would think about grinding some of the bad wood at the top out and filling with a quality thin epoxy. Try to get it to run in then clamp that sucker tight let dry and hope it never fails.....

Or just get a new one....
Im super down to fix things but I would hate to have the steering wheel fall off my car at full speed and your rudder is dang near the same thing..

Im workiing on my rudder now and just remarked to my buddy how heavey just the blade is. It seems to be some sort of quality hard wood covered in glass and painted.

good luck, welcome and lets see what others say because Ive been wrong more than once.

$tingy Sailor · Jun 6, 2014

I'm with the other guys on your rudder. It'll probably keep working for you if you don't redline it but it's going to get worse fast. I repaired a minor split and some dings in my rudder but nothing close to yours. I'd be tempted to Band-Aid it until I could find a more serviceable used one or could afford something like a Rudder-Craft replacement that Don loves.

Ken · Jun 7, 2014

Just about anything you do in the bandaid class will certainly fail.
Depending on your skill level you can do what many others have done, carefully continue the split all the way around then remove the wet useless core and replace it with a new one. Use epoxy to put it back together fair and paint, should be good for many years.

One thing for sure it must be addressed, it's only a matter of time until it fails in its present state.

Good luck, keep us posted on your decision....

Should you decide to replace, you have several options.

CaptDon01 · Jun 7, 2014

Welcome to the family! I also recently purchased a 2nd generation C-22 like you have. My rudder is in nice shape, it's my keel that's shot and will be be replaced. The summer is already here, so do you want to spend a good portion of the summer fixing up a bad rudder? And you still may be spending fifty cents to try and save a nickle. "IF" you intend on racing in C-22 events, you'll have to stick with a factory rudder. But, the 2nd generation boats we're noted for being a little on the chunky side, but a GREAT cruiser. As already mentioned, I LOVE my Rudder-Craft rudders. It will be the last rudder you'll ever buy, and it's one of the best single things you can do to improve a C-22 in my opinion. The boat steers nicer, and with only two fingers due to their balanced design. They will never absorb water, and "IF" it the blade fails, Rudder-Craft replaces it,(original owner only). Nothing wrong with the factory rudders, they've made thousands of them, and thousands of them are in use all over the world, so that says something for sure. But in my collection I've got 4 rudders, two factory rudders, and two Rudder-Craft rudders, guess which ones stay in the garage? Try and locate a C-22 Fleet in your area, they will have lot's of advice also for you, and might even be able to lend a hand. Check out the National C-22 web site for a contact for a local fleet. Good luck with the boat and we always like photos, lot's of photos!!!!!!!!!

Don

CaptDon01 · Jun 7, 2014

The gas strut on Rudder-Craft's kick-up version is to hold the blade down, but "if" you hit something, it allows the blade to come up, and once your clear, it automatically pushes the rudder blade back down. Plus, you just pull a line and the rudder blade swings up out of the water, now the gas strut holds the rudder blade in the fully up position. It's a BEAUTIFUL design!

One thing I didn't care for was the tiller attachment on their kick-up rudder. Our tillers are supported by a little knob on the rudder under the end of the tiller. Only the Rudder-Craft kick-up version supports the tiller with a couple little stainless steel tangs on the side. I already had my racing rudder/tiller assembly with the heavy duty stainless steel straps from Catalina Direct. So to correct this problem, I installed the tiller from my racing rudder/tiller unit, and it works like a champ! The tiller is supported on the sides by the thick tiller straps from Catalina Direct. It does require you to drill an additional hole for the mounting bolt about 1 1/2" further forward, so you need to invest in a special drill bit to drill the additional hole in the thick stainless steel straps. But, I can use the same pretty tiller on any rudder, factory design, the fixed Rudder-Craft design, or the Rudder-Craft kick-up design. It's already set-up with a pin for the auto-pilot to mount to, and it has the fitting for the Fore-Spar tiller extension.

Another advantage with my kick-up Rudder-Craft unit is it's design allows me to fabricate mounts that attach to the heavy stainless steel frame assembly. This way I'll mount my mast crutch to the rudder already handing on the transom while trailering. The rudder is verticle, so it's not in the way, and just eliminates more stuff to take off and put back on while trailering. Rudder-Craft will already sell you their mast crutch kit that fit's on their kick-up rudder, I'm just going to basically copy their idea and use one of my mast crutch's from Catalina Direct.

Don

caguy · Jun 10, 2014

When I did the Luger 30 I found that they come in complete sets all pre assembled. You just have to bolt on the backing latest with the rest of the assembly. Finding seals for the bearings was a job but finally located some at Napa.
Depending on how far you are driving you may not need any brakes. My Mac25 came without brakes and it weighed 2700 lbs plus the trailer. I trailer that from Los Angeles to Tahoe up and down steep windy mountains without any problems.
On the Cat 27 (7000#s) the breaks totally disintegrated so I removed them. I only travel about 100 yards so not a problem.
Chances are you will have to replace the master cylinder or whole surge break unit not to mention the brake lines.
If you can get away without brakes you wild be better off. Spend the money on a new rudder and go sailing.
BTW do repack the bearings it looks like you have bearing buddies.

$tingy Sailor · Jun 10, 2014

Drinkmilk,

They're most likely 10" but measure the drum diameter to be sure. Lots of rust is common on the drums, they're often bare metal when the trailer is built. The studs and the ground surfaces are the important parts. If either are obviously unserviceable or suspect, they're inexpensive to replace. Just like your car, you can take the drums to a brake shop and they will measure them for you to see if they can be reground. Replace the shoes if you regrind or replace the drums.

If the backing plate assemblies aren't in good working condition, those four bolts in the axle flange hold the whole assembly on, which you want to replace as a unit. They don't look too bad in your picture. If you decide to replace them, take care with the hydraulic line flare nut, which might be seized on pretty good. If it won't come loose with a normal end wrench and moderate effort, get a flare nut wrench. It's like a closed end wrench but has a slot to go over the line. Because if you mangle the nut trying to get it loose, you'll need to replace the lines whether you wanted to or not.

Use a flashlight to inspect the inside of the actuator reservoir for moisture and rust. If there's much, consider replacing it and the lines since rust can clog a line over time.

Getting the brakes in good working condition is worth the effort. Check the state laws where you trailer. They might be required over a certain gross trailer weight or over a certain percentage of the tow vehicle weight. I'm glad I added them to my trailer even through they are required by law in my case. They make the trip to the lake that much more relaxing when you don't have to allow that extra braking distance without them.

I can't speak to your question of brands to avoid. Hopefully, other will chime in with their experiences too.

Here's a link to the article on my blog in case it helps: http://stingysailor.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/trailer-surge-brakes-solution

Best of luck. Keep us updated.

CaptDon01 · Jun 10, 2014

Drinkmilk,

You'll LOVE the Rudder-Craft rudder. Just spoke with Joel yesterday about adapting my kick-up rudder to also serve as the mounting for my mast crutch when trailering. Stand-by for some NEAT information,(no drilling will be required!!!!). GREAT company to do business with. Catalina Direct or Rudder-Craft, guess it doesn't make any difference. Don't know why you couldn't find the C-22 rudders in their catalog. Independent companies, but both selling some neat products.

Also, Rudder-Craft has been a HUGE supporter of the Havasu Pocket Cruiser Convention from the conception. They make GREAT products, and support the pocket cruiser family. Can't get much better than that.

To modify the heavy duty tiller straps from Catalina Direct, you'll need a bit designed for stainless steel. I first used about an 1/8" bit, followed by the larger bit for the hole,(don't remember what size it was. I have some phoos of the project that I can post.

On the issue of trailer brakes. If things are that bad, might want to consider switching to disc brakes. Less maintenance, GREAT stopping, and the actuator can be adapted by changing the orifice for disc brakes. Had mine changed over last year and WOW!!! what a difference! Don't know the brand of the items, a local trailer supply shop did the work for me. The noise you hear starting and stopping is the actuator moving back and forth. Probably has no brake fluid, or air in the system. Do you have the quick disconnect coupler so you can disconnect the brakes when you extend the trailer extension?

Don

$tingy Sailor · Jun 10, 2014

The actuator shouldn't be easy to apply by hand but possible with considerable effort or a pry bar. If your actuator has a breakaway lever (and it should), you can apply it there by hand. I recommend bleeding the system in any case. Then you'll be able to see if there's water or rust in the system and how much. I wouldn't worry too much about a tiny bit of either. If a lot of rust comes out or one side doesn't bleed, you should replace the lines. If neither side bleeds and there's plenty of fluid in the reservoir, you may need new a new actuator. I'd consider replacing the lines at the same time so there's no doubt about them.

I don't know about all systems, but a bleeding/vacuum pump kit didn't work with the actuator I installed. The cylinder apparently doesn't have a bypass like an automotive system. So, you might have to do it the old-school way with a helper pumping the actuator while you open the bleed valve at the brake cylinder at the start of each pump and close it at the end of each pump to keep air out of the system. There's probably some videos on YouTube of doing this.

My 1st (project) boat

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