I have a 2005 Hunter 25 and just put it in the water this season. Two weeks ago, I lost rudder control while leaving the harbour. As I turned around, I saw that the rudder hood was bent! Now, the emergency tiller fits in the two flanges, but I removed the tiller (I have a wheel)when I stepped the mast. The yacht company claims that there is nothing that should be inserted between the flanges, but Hunter Marine says that the emergency tiller (which is about 5 feet long)is supposed to be left in place (giving structural support. Anyone have this problem or if you own a 25, do you keep the tiller in place? Thanks for your help. Mike Atkinson
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Mine bent slightly too
I noticed that mine bent slightly too. I fixed the problem by putting a bolt through an empty hole that goes through both sides of the support. I put nuts on both sides of the support on each side. It basically acts like a spacer and distributes some of the load to the other side of the bracket. It all feels very secure now. It takes one bolts and three nuts to do the job. Hope this helps. Below is the best diagram I can create here. Y represents the bolt head, the 1's represent the actual stainless rudder bracket, the dashes represent the threaded section of the bolt, the X's represent nuts. Y1X--------X1X I dont keep the emergency tiller in place. This fills that space in much the same manner. I plan to cut a spacer that will go in between over the bolt to give it more strength. If the emergency tiller is really supposed to be left in place, Hunter should inform the dealers. My dealer certainly was not aware of that, nor is it anywhere in the manual as far as I can see.
I noticed that mine bent slightly too. I fixed the problem by putting a bolt through an empty hole that goes through both sides of the support. I put nuts on both sides of the support on each side. It basically acts like a spacer and distributes some of the load to the other side of the bracket. It all feels very secure now. It takes one bolts and three nuts to do the job. Hope this helps. Below is the best diagram I can create here. Y represents the bolt head, the 1's represent the actual stainless rudder bracket, the dashes represent the threaded section of the bolt, the X's represent nuts. Y1X--------X1X I dont keep the emergency tiller in place. This fills that space in much the same manner. I plan to cut a spacer that will go in between over the bolt to give it more strength. If the emergency tiller is really supposed to be left in place, Hunter should inform the dealers. My dealer certainly was not aware of that, nor is it anywhere in the manual as far as I can see.
I got a stainless steel, square tubing block that fits into the rudder gap where the mast crutch (a.k.a. emergency tiller goes). The bolts hold it in place. I bought my 2005 Hunter 25 used, so I can't tell you if it should come with this filler block. I am sure that your dealer would know where to get one.
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