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1966 Californian

J

jclays

Regular Contributor
Got into a mud bank in the dar

Got into a mud bank in the dark. Soft grounding. Got the boat back out. Have a bent rudder arm. hope the rudder didnt get bent. Tracks straight. Steering good until the bent arm hits a mounting bracket then gets stiff till i pass that point. Ran for an hour and a half after the grounding. hope that any mud the Crusaders might have sucked in blew out. Hired a diver to check the rudder.
 
"The rudder arm or tiller arm

"The rudder arm or tiller arm is made out of brass. Will this fatigue if I bend it back. Ive taken it off to have one of the local marine iron works in the harbor straighten it out if possible or make one if they can. Can anyone help me out in finding a replacement. It takes a square vs round rudder shaft head and is 3/4 of and inch square. The problem im having is all I can find online is 1 inch square. My local marine supply only lists 1 inch square, 7 inches center to center. Here in So California all the few salvage yards tell me that they dont save those parts. they are worth more for scrape value than storing and selling them. If all that is avalible is 1 inch. Can these be shimmed??? Safely?? Thanks in advance.
Jim"
 
"If it's off the boat, sim

"If it's off the boat, simply have someone heat the affected area a bit with a torch before bending it back. Bronze is fairly malleable and doesn't crack like cast iron.

Jeff"
 
Took it to Wilmington iron wor

Took it to Wilmington iron works. The arm was pretty tweeked. It straighted in one direction however started cracking taking out the bend in the second direction. The folks at the iron works said that worked out better for them now it is straight and they just have to weld it up where it cracked. They said this would not pose a problem. I found a vintage Chris Craft place across from the iron works. They also will try to get me a casting from the manufacture of tiller arms they get and Will work with the iron works to punch the 2 holes I need. My diver called me just 10 min ago. The rudder is bent. Not noticable approching under water from the stern. Noticable approching from the bow.
 
Finally got to take the boat o

Finally got to take the boat out in open water last night. Getting vibration in the driveline starting at about 1800rpm and 2000rpm. Didnt run her any higher(very dark) Hmmmm. Diver said struts and shafts looked ok. Props have some nicks. bent prop?
 
Never mind. Diver friend found

Never mind. Diver friend found remnants of palm fronds wrapped around prop shaft. Too much garbage in the water after the rains..
 
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