Chrysler Sailors Forum

Anyone have some pictures or illustrations of how the lowering and lifting of the rudder is suppose to operate?

Hi Banshi;

check this site: http://chryslersailing.lizards.net/

Click on the "How Two" tab and scroll to "how to repair your rudder assembly" (or somehting like that). There are diagrams ...

Basically, though, you have two lines, attached to different points on the "inside" of the rudder that act as raising and lowering lines. The ropes are led up through the rudder post.

I actually managed to chang my lines while to boat was in the water the other day. One day soon I'll document that on this site as it's going to be an entertaining little story

Is anyone actually able to raise and lower the rudder with the lines? I have to push mine down with a boat hook, and wait till it bumps on some bottom to bring it up. I installed new lines in the spring and put teflon grease on each side of the rudder. The nut is not locked tightly.

bob branch

I have a hard time with mine as well. I think if you increase the diameter of the pivot pin(the part the lines run over) that should help ALOT. Right now I am just using a through bolt as a pivot pin. I plan on changing my pivot pin in the next week or so I will let you know how it works.

The previous owner just used a boat hook to lower it and a rope over the transom to pull it up. How about some pictures once you change the bolt.

I went to the lizards sight right after posting to check out what they had and the illustrations are enlightening by still leave me a little fuzzy on the whole deal.

I was working on my house plumbing and the boat on the same day and came on the realization that a very short section of 1/2" PEX is the perfect "bearing" for that rope to ride on. I pulled the bolt out and slid a piece in and like magic, it works great! You can buy a 10' section quite cheaply at Lowes.

essen48183, pictures would help us land lovers who are trying to get on the water!! Thanks! Just had my rudder "recoated" with fiberglass, and am about to replace EVERY PART of it.

I had one of those nylon rollers you get at the hardware store, but the thing wared out and it fell (I don't think I replaced it). I don't have a problem with the rudder, I use the lines all the time. I did replaced the old lines with nylon line from the hardware store.

I just had it apart again to rebuild the entire assembly according to the chrysler lizards specs.... (I am a newbie and I installed a beautiful honda 8 hp fourstroke with remote control and a swivel lock... put it in for a sea trial and reversed with the rudder up. DON'T EVER DO THIS!!! I almost broke my leg. Thankfully I shut off the motor and only broke the fiberglass thru hull the delrin? mushroom shaped bushing and the aluminum tiller handle-to-pipe bracket.) The mushroom shaped bushing is now a 1 1/2 thru hull drilled out with a PVC pipe cap threaded onto it and again drilled out... We'll see how long that lasts... delrin rod 3" thick is expensive and my lathe work is not perfect. My boat doesn't have the same fitting in the bottom as the lizards directions picture. It is a cup shaped hole to accommodate a slightly forward swept rudder post(I'm guessing I owe the light controls to that forward swept post and wierd cup thing so I'm not changin it!)

I wish this board automatically emailed you when you have a reply. Anyway I didn't take pictures (again). Sorry.

But I didn't describe it correctly the first time either. PEX tubing is sold at my local Lowes in 10' and 50' sections. It is flexible (but hard) plastic tubing that comes in 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4". The 3/8 comes with one end having a compression fitting end in a short cheap pice for sink hookups. If you can't get it email me and I will cut you off a piece of 3/8 and 1/2 and send it for a couple dollars to cover price of shipping until mine is gone.

You know that stainless bolt that is in the front of the rudder that the rope is routed around? I cut (exactly to the width of the distance between the 2 large round plates the rudder is between) a piece of gray 3/8" PEX (the stuff you hook up a faucet with). Then I cut a piece of 1/2" PEX about 1/8" shorter so that it would roll freely and not bind. I placed the 3/8" pex inside the 1/2" PEX and lined it up with that bolt hole and threaded the bolt through it creating a nice "bearing". I did all this because when I thought of it I hadn't yet had it in the water and I could not operate it.... When I was done it was still difficult on land but at least possible. Turns out it works like a dream in the water with the flotation of the rudder. (So it might have worked before underwater... If you are going to repair it make sure it doesn't work in the water first) But it is nice and smooth and is easy to operate and worth the few bucks it cost me.

Comes up so easy I got scared of an accidental prop contact and put one of those Mac's prop savers $100 on my outboard. I think everyone with a c22 and c26 should all look into that. It is a heavy duty steel ring that goes around your prop and makes it so you don't have to do fiberglass work if that ever happens.

And I am elbow deep in fiberglass work as the PO's had FUBAR'ed the mast step by drilling holes and injecting straight resin into a wet core. Again, no pictures, but if anyone needs to remake a mast step I can walk them through it. Basically you have to not be afraid to go at it with a circular saw and believe you can make it better and stronger than it was. This has been a great learning boat so far... I'm addicted. I think it might be too small for my family though. I'm driving to chicago to look at a c-26 tomorrow with a wad of money. These boats are built WAY better than new boats. Solid (and thick) hand laid fiberglass hulls with honeycomb cored decks and cedar cores in the designed deck penetrations. Nice lines and the price is right.

Handy board tip #12, when you post there is a box below the post area that you can check "notify me when a reply is posted"

I like your PEX tip, going by the store today and make that mod myself.

ps, I also did the rudder up in reverse once, boy that tiller will "jibe" across with some force, huh !

Hi Guys,
Reading the posts on the rudders, thought I would chime in.
My rudder has always worked fine with the lines w/o extra help.

The one thing I have found is when the rudder is easy to raise and lower,
when I am in the water, if I start pulling on the line to raise it, I need to keep the other line taught until I comes all the way up.

Mine will come up so fast that it will hit the bottom of the boat and it will chip the gelcoat and I have to do a minor repair.

This has happened more than once.

Just a heads up.