The rudder gudgeons on my '88 wksr are a little worn (i.e., the holes are slightly enlarged). There is only a little noticable slop when sailing. They are not worn to the point that I am even the least bit worried about them failing. The issue at this point is an annoying, noisy vibration in the rudder when motoring due to the vibration from the outboard. I can stop this vibration with a little hand pressure on the tiller. The gudgeons are still solidly bedded to the stern with no leaks.
I know the obvious answer is to replace the gudgeon and pintles with the nice heavy duty package with bushings from Catalina Direct, but I really don't want to crawl into the cockpit locker and play contortionist to remove the gudgeons. I'm also not ready to cut a hole into the liner to access the back of the mounting bolts for the upper gudgeon.
Any thoughts on what to do with the existing gudgeons left in place? Is it possible to replace them without cutting holes?
I know the obvious answer is to replace the gudgeon and pintles with the nice heavy duty package with bushings from Catalina Direct, but I really don't want to crawl into the cockpit locker and play contortionist to remove the gudgeons. I'm also not ready to cut a hole into the liner to access the back of the mounting bolts for the upper gudgeon.
Any thoughts on what to do with the existing gudgeons left in place? Is it possible to replace them without cutting holes?
