Plastic shear pins

[Captain E]

I was wondering to those who use plastic shear pins (to lock rudder in place) Does anybody have a solution than buying them at Ida rudder? Is it a hack project at Home depot? I would like to carry a lifetime supply since it seems to save my rudder from breaking. Im down on my last shear pin and would like to know if I should order more (shear pins) from Ida rudder or just go to home depot or similar store. Whats the part no if available. Thanks!

 

[MrBill_FLL]

Yes!!!

Thru trial and error, I found the grey plastic plumbing supply lines (3/8" ???) for a bathroom sink (may fit other fixtures), work great, hollow, but soft and slide thru the second alum hole much better than the wooden dowels I was using....think it came in a 2-3' lenght, (I ended up using braded lines for sink)I then just cut them to 5-7" sections... used 4 times so far...

 

[Robspan]

I have a popup clam cleat

on the tiller. It works pretty well. You can adjust the force necessary to activate the popup mechanism. I don't have the make or model no., nor do I remember who I bought it from, but if anyone is interested, I can look the next time I'm out on the boat. Senior moment #248: does anybody else forget to raise the rudder before you pull the boat out of the water?

 

[dancing bear]

toilet seat bolts

Nylon toilet seat bolts work, they are just barely long enough.

 

[csobalvarro]

Nylon Plastic Rod

I bought an 8-foot length of nylon/plastic rod from Tap Plastic for a few dollars, cut it up into short pieces and even threaded and drilled the ends exactly like the commercial ones. They work great.

 

[Blake]

Robspan

Drug the rudder up the ramp last year after my first sail of the season. I am not egagerating when I say that there must have been 50 fisheremen in the vicinety. Don't know what the occasion was but I sure had lots of witnesses! I am hoping to do better this year,especially as I have installed a brand new Idasail rudder over the winter. Mr. Bill, I like the idea of the plumbing lines.

 

[Blake]

popup camcleats

Just had another senior moment. I meant to add in my previous post that Duckworks, an online magazine and boatbilder's supply catalog, sells those camcleats, along with lots of other good stuff at good prices.

 

[Robspan]

JDK, that's the exact clam cleat

that I have. It keeps the rudder down even when I surf down waves but lets it kick up when I, ah, make a one point landing.

 

[JDK]

It's worth the money.

You put it exactly right, Robspan. I like it when I can buy forgiveness.JDK

 

[Blake]

Looks Good

I like your set up Robspan, but it couldn't be done exactly that way on my 26S. The post that connects the rudder to the tiller runs up inside the lazerette. Is anybody out there using one of these cleats on thier S model?

 

[Chris & Lenore]

I have a 26S with clam cleat as well

Works great.The downhaul is 1/4 inch nylon double braid which will snap in a hard grounding.The quick release cleat will not work where we sail due to the weeds - nor will a plastic bolt.Chris

 

[Blake]

looks easy

yep, Robspan thats the way mine was rigged as well. I wasn't sure if the popup cam would work in that spot. Thanks for the info.

 

[jleblanc31]

Don't leave home with out it

I just bought the hardware to set up a line for my rudder but at the current time I use a plastic 3/8 bolt and nut I get at Home Depot or Lows. There on the bolt isle in the pullout trays. Doesn't cost any more than the toilet seat bolt. I would keep one in the truck, one in the rudder and one in the diddy bag just in case I drop one in the drink or hit a shallow rock. It saved me 2 times once wile sailing and once at the dock when I left the rudder in the down position when pulling it out the water. I'm going to keep one on the boat even when I finish the line system just in case a pulley or the line brakes.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

on the toilet seat bolts....

The toilet seat bolts I found, were too short for my rudder (88D), went thru one side of the plate and rudder (only) not fully thru the other castle side...I looked for the longest at lowes and HD, but no luck... thats why I'm using the grey supply line

 

[Robspan]

Doug, that looks like a better spot

for the clam cleat than where mine is. Do you get any chafe on the yacht braid where it comes out of the rudder post?

 

[Doug J]

No chafe so far

The 1/4" yacht braid comes through a tiller riser I bought from Idasailor, which has a nylon cap with a nicely eased hole in it, There is no rough edges really to cause chafe. I looked on the Idasailor web site and did not see the tiller riser listed for sale anymore, I wonder if they still sell them. For $45 that was money well spent.

 

[Captain E]

Doug

I also have the tiller riser from Ida sailor. Were you able to put the cilinder bolt that was inside the shaft (that bolts the tiller in place)? I could not put mines back in due to the new tiller. So far there is no problem and sailed without it, Im concern there might be excessive wear pulling the tiller.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mr Bill, I notice dancing bear has a Mac M. Maybe the toilet seat bolts are long enogh for the M and not a a Classic.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------jleblanc31 looks like thats a better option for the Mac C-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"My opinion" I like the shear pins option better, its more work to go on the ladder and get your feet wet to bolt on the shear pins, but having the rudder tilt a few inches sure makes a difference in weather helm. Having the shear pins on sure makes my sailing worry free and keeps me from constantly checking if my tiller lock line is tight enough. I no longer use the tiller lock line (makes my tiller look free from cleats or cams)

 

[Doug J]

Captain E

I don't understand your question. What are you referring to when you say "cilinder bolt that was inside the shaft"?

 

[Doug J]

I never noticed that!

I just figured it is a SS tube running down thru the transom. When I installed the tiller riser I just put a bolt through the hole that was already there, I didn't need to drill anything, easy installation.Is that diagram of a 26S? Is that a mod to correct the slop so many of us experience with the rudder assembly? Where you able to incorporate bearings on your rudder assembly?

 

[Paul Brinkley]

I think the hollow cylinder around the bolt...

is supposed to act as a roller for the rudder hold-down line as it makes the turn from inside the tube to parallel to the tiller. There is probably supposed to be one on the bolt through the bottom of the tube as well. The one on my bottom bolt is missing. The holes in the top of the post had been so worn out that I had to redrill them for a larger bolt to get rid of excess play in the rudder. I put a bronze bushing around that top bolt. If I ever have occasion to work on the bottom bolt, I'll put a bushing around it as well. -Paul