Rudder Removal

[tartansailor]

Greetings,
As you probably have read, the guy that hauled my boat twisted the rudder post and bent the rudder.

The crane he used is for his pile driving business; and insurance does not cover messing with boats. So he says.

My wife is adamant that I not take the guy to court because she and the guys mother are best of friends.

Now I have exposed the gudgeon and have taken a few whacks trying to remove the 3 pins holding the gudgeon in place but they will not budge.

The question is: How do I get the pins out without causing any further damage?

Do I have to drill or grind on the opposite side of the pin heads, or should I just slam away, or is there a tool I could rent.

Or is there someone I could bring the boat to that really knows Cape Dory's in the Annapolis area?

Thanks in advance for any insight you may wish to offer.

Dick

[Oswego John]

Dick,

Grind one end of the mushroom heads on the rivets off. You can use a Dremel or some other like grinder. Then drive the rivets out with a hammer and a drift pin. They should slide out .

Good luck,
O J

[Ron M.]

It's hard to believe an individual in business these days does not have an umbrella liability policy which would protect him from practically any mishap. It used to be one of the most cost effective coverages you could get, may not be the case today. When I was in contracting the first thing required was a certifigate of insurance coverage signed and dated by the carrier before work commenced. Sounds like you can't win in this case. best of luck. [/list]
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MERCURY TRACER SPECIFICATIONS

[Duncan Maio]

Dick:

OJ is, of course, entirely correct. The pins are usually bronze rods that are press-fit through the gudgeon fitting and the keel, and then the ends are peened over with a hammer so that they can't push through from either end.

The holes in the gudgeon may be countersunk so that the rod ends will fill the countersink during the peening. I've done a couple of Typhoon Gudgeons and a bunch of tiller straps that were done that way. One way to remove the peened end without disturbing the countersink too much is to drill out the center of the pin with a slightly undersized bit - if it's a 3/8" rod, use a 5/16" bit - you only have to drill down about a quarter inch or so. Then when you drive the pin through, the peened over bits will either shear off or fold in on the hole you have drilled.

[Kurt]

You might try getting a couple heat guns and hold one on either side of the bronze shoe to heat it up real good before you take another whack at with a drift pin and hammer. Good luck!

[tartansailor]

Ron, Thanks for the concern. I am not really that upset because the rudder post was almost totally exposed before the incident, so all I am really out is the cost of the S.S.

OJ, Duncan, Kurt. Thanks for the suggestions. I tried a combination of all your suggestions at one shot and that did the trick. The pins are now free!

Dick