Chrysler Sailors Forum

The billet aluminun piece that attatches the tiller to the rudder post broke. It cracked all the way down one side so we had it welded up.....and it cracked again. I have a friend who said he could machine a new piece......so that is nice. But I have been thinking of getting rid of the through hull and mounting the rudder off the back. I know the basics of moving the rudder...like moving the traveler and motor mount. I know it might or will change how responsive the steering is.....but I like the room it would create in the cockpit and getting rid of one more hole in the hull. What are the opinions of the great chrysler sailboat minds here. Thanks
Kevin

That sounds like a lot of work!
The reinforcement for the outboard mount is only in the middle of the transon, so to move OB your would need to reinforce the transon in that new location.
Not sure where you would move the main sheet traveler, could be mounted on the transon somehow, but it would need to be mounted high enough so the tiller runs under it. That would also move the main sheet farther out of reach. and make acess to the fuel locker a pain.
If you want more room in the cockpit you may consider shortening your tiller. It's not like the C22 needs a long tiller for leverage to fight weather helm.
I shortened mine another 4" last spring.

Another interesting take on your situation.
If you move the outboard to the side of the transom there are a couple of things to consider. Maybe an issue for you, maybe not. The first and obvious is the change in weight distribution. Maybe move it to port to offest that starboard list our C22's tend to have! LOL!

Second and more importantly is the handling of your boat. Not under sail but under power. You may not realize how good you have it with the outboard centered on the transom. the prop wash in forward is directly centered and it makes steering of forward gear extremely easy. Offset the outboard and forward will require some very minor tiller adjustment. However . . . .
In reverse is a whole new world! You will effectively loooooose your steering ability at very slow speeds under power ( not sail ) . For example.
Lets say you want to back into a slip or maybe even simpler, back out of a slip. These manouvers require almost a dead slow movement. Today a quick burst or a slow increase of reverse and the propwash nicely goes over the rudder and you can steer! Move the outboard to the side of the boat and you can not use the prop wash to steer. You must have some hull speed to steer. You boat will seem sluggish and you will seriously wonder what is wrong! Nothing. You just changed the dynamics of your boat.

Go get aboard a Catalina 22 or Catalina 25 and try backing slowly out of a slip! You will instantly know what I am describing.

In calm weather and no current this is literally no problem. Add some wind and maybe a river or tide . . . . . . . .

Not trying to diswade you from your ideas . . . .

Just sayin' have all the knowledge you can first!


Scott

My advice is to have the new part made and keep the boat as designed...my two cents.

Have it welded again, doing a better job of welding

The Cal 21 had transom mounted rudder - downsides were limited shallow water docking due to the long solid rudder. Also I found it necessary to be sure it stayed off the dock when docked stern in, got squished once on a windy day. Was a pain to add and remove it when trailer sailing. Broke it once when I forgot to take it off and backed over a bump at the club.

If room in the cockpit is your main issue you can hinge the tiller. I hinged mine on the two ventures and my 26. I added a drop in pin to lock it in the straight position if needed. The ventures have stern mounted rudders with ob's mounted to port. I have no issues when docking however I can easily steer the motor from the cockpit. The rudders are kickup and are easily removed for trailering. Just remove a cotter pin and lift them off. On Venture North I have a bracket up forward in the trailer frame where the rudder rides. I just remove the tiller.

You might look at moving the traveler to the cabin top bridging the hatch.I purchased a traveler from Moonshine Jim when he parted out his 22 and that's where it was mounted. That is where I mounted it on my 26. I'm anxious to try it but it'll be awhile.

I've thought about moving my 26 rudder aft but the geometry of the arc and length if the tiller need to be considered.
Clair

Thanks for all the info.....I will probably have the new piece machined up. My friend will make it for the price materials. Thats a sweet deal. A hinged tiller handle sounds like agood idea. I am still toying with the idea of moving the tiller but the more I think about the less I want to.
Thanks again for the info

Clair

Sorry Kevin about butting in on your tiller post, but when Clair spoke of perhaps moving his rudder aft, I could not help myself. Clair if you move forward on that line of thinking start your own project post, I for one would love to see how it could be done...

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
Chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)
O-Day 22' 1973
Old yellow (for now)

Not meaning to beat a dead horse, but it has been a while since I was on here and I feel I should chime in on this one. Scott makes a very good point about the handling in reverse with a offset outboard and a stern mounted rudder. This is the config on my S27 and she is very squirrely in reverse at low speeds. My two cents.

Even though I no longer own a Chrysler I still may pipe in every once in a while.

Welding aluminum can be tricky, the part needs to be preheated and post heated for a strong weld. If the weld cracks it's usually because the parent material was not hot enough causing the weld to cool too quickly.

As far as an offset outboard mount goes, with my Catalina 25, I almost always steer with my outboard as well as the tiller when backing out of my slip, limited control with the tiller only. Luckily I haven't hit anything in 2 and a half years at this marina. The transom mounted rudder does give you a little more room in the cockpit.

sauerleigh wrote:Even though I no longer own a Chrysler I still may pipe in every once in a while.

Please do, always good to hear from you !

How about dual rudders mounted on the stern? They could be rigged to turn the outboard at the same time. Then, you would not have to move anything else. Macgregor sailboats (if you can call them a sailboat) use twin rudders.

Hi every one. I like the idea of rudders being synchronized with the engine. On my last boat I could steer the engine, and that was vary handy in tight places. I like the rudder design that Hake uses on there Seaward line.

Thx.
Boaty

boaty wrote:Hi every one. I like the idea of rudders being synchronized with the engine. On my last boat I could steer the engine, and that was vary handy in tight places. I like the rudder design that Hake uses on there Seaward line.

Way back long ago when EE was stuffed in a deadend/corner slip on da bayou, she had a setup to turn the outboard when the tiller was pulled. A line ran from each side of the rear of the engine cover to a block on each corner of the transom, which in turn ran to a (detachable) point halfway up the tiller. Pull tiller left, both rudder and outboard went right.

EE, do you have a picture of that setup?

No but I'll post a line drawing tonight...

like this


red is the line running from each side of tiller around a block, back to another block, then to the back of the outboard. The old Merc had a handle back there which I tied to. Angle from outboard to block on transom was sharper than in the pic, blocks on the toerail..

That looks like a simple Vary Good thing to add to my C-26 Thank You EE