missing rudder hardware?

[spierce666]

Greetings -

Does anyone know what might have been installed here using these two holes in the rudder, just under the tiller?



Was it original equipment (I have a 1966 DSI)?

In possibly-related news, my tiller is slightly lower than it should be, such that it rubs on the stern cockpit coaming wood. Tips on best way to fix this issue?

Thanks!

-Steve

[K.C. Walker]

I am going to guess that it was a tiller stop that was not original. I made one for my rudder but have it on each side and through bolted, but in basically the same location, and for the same reason you mention about rubbing the coaming.

[ChrisB]

Definitely a tiller stop. The rudder on my '80 DS II has an "L" shaped, SST bracket attached in that location. It keeps the tiller from dropping lower than horizontal.

[jeadstx]

On my original rudder head there was an eye strap in that place to route the rudder blade downhaul line thru.

John

[GreenLake]

If your tiller is rubbing you are missing a tiller stop as has been pointed out. When I rebuilt my rudder I made a tiller stop from a piece I cut off of one of the white polyethylene cutting boards. That boards are cheap and the material can be cut, drilled or filed easily. It comes in handy in so many places...

I cut mine a bit too tall on purpose and then filed it down to fit - it's difficult to predict what size will give you the correct angle as the tiller has a bit of "give" that, with the long lever arm, will translate a tiny motion to an inch or more at the tip.