by GreenLake » Thu May 19, 2022 12:04 am
There are other ways to hold down a rudder.
My boat has two of them.
One is an L bracket that rotates on a screw. Normally it points down and the L prevent the rudder from being lifted. If turned, the L moves to the side, letting the pintles pass.
The other is a flat metal spring. It sits against the back of the rudder in a shallow V with tip of the V pointing down. The free tip rests against the pintle, below the gudgeon. The idea is that it will wedge itself when you try to pull up the rudder, but lets the rudder be lifted if you hold it against the back of the rudder head with your free hand.
Together, they are fine for casual use, though I'd find a way to rig a lanyard or something (or to drill the tips of one of the pintles) if I ever were to take this boat on an extended expedition style cruise.
Note, I rebuilt my rudder and it does float, possibly unlike the stock rudder.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~