G
Gregg
My 76 C-30 took a beating last weekend from the last winds of Ivan stirring things up in New England. My mooring parted in 50+ mph winds and my poor C-30 was dashed on a breakwater for a couple minutes before she could be rescued. Remarkably, the hull suffered only some superficial "rash", easily repaired. But my rudder did not hold up as well... The post appears straight, but the fin cracked and it's top edge pinned against the hull, about 10 degrees off. I figured that I could disconnect the post and slide it out but after undoing the tiller end cap and securing bolt, as well as all the cable, pulleys and brackets associated with the Edson wheel-steering upgrade, but the post (and rudder) still will not drop out?? I loosened the bolts on the stuffing box, but did not take them out completely. Am I missing something critical here?? Or is it just the force of the bent/cracked rudder pinned against the hull that could exert enough diagonal force as to pin the post against the fibergrass sleeve the post rotates in??I have pictures, but not sure that would do any good. Does anyone have any experience with removing their rudder under normal circumstances?? Or have any advice about this particular scenario??Any help, comments, or suggestions would be very, very welcome!! Right now, I'm stuck going in cirlces, literally!