Peening rudder shoe pins?

[Benlieb]

Hi all,

I got the shoe off of my cd28 using a die grinder, with very little damage to the surrounding glass and I'm very happy.... I ordered some 5/8 silicon bronze rod to replace the pins and am looking for sources of information on correct peening techniques. Any takers here? Not much on YouTube except applications in knife making. I want to make it awesome.

Also, does anyone see any real reason I should re-wrap the whole shoe in fiberglass after installing it and the rudder? I think I can just skip this, and leave the shoe exposed, as long as the peening is done well..... I do plan to wet out and add a cabosil filler under the shoe at time of install, but more than that and I'll need the travel lift to pick me up twice, I was thinking I could launch after this step. Thoughts?

[Jim Walsh]

You will have to pre-form a head on one end, insert the pin, peen the virgin end and the opposite end in turns till the pin is secure. It helps if you can have a helper "buck" the opposite end while you are doing the peening.
Sometimes scoring the head of the rod an eighth of an inch deep in a cross pattern with a hacksaw will help with initially forming the head.
I'd use auto body filler to fair it to the keel, that's what's used around the prop aperture. Apply some barrier coat and bottom paint and you're golden.

[Benlieb]

You will have to pre-form a head on one end, insert the pin, peen the virgin end and the opposite end in turns till the pin is secure. It helps if you can have a helper "buck" the opposite end while you are doing the peening.
Sometimes scoring the head of the rod an eighth of an inch deep in a cross pattern with a hacksaw will help with initially forming the head.
I'd use auto body filler to fair it to the keel, that's what's used around the prop aperture. Apply some barrier coat and bottom paint and you're golden.

Jim, how much length should I leave protruding from the shoe on either side to form the head with?
The pin is 1/2 inch.

[Jim Walsh]

Your first posting mentions 5/8 rod.
The length is really a judgement call. Maybe 3/8 on each side would allow you to form a head without having too much protruding? Better too much than too little. You can always die grind a little off to make it neat.

[Benlieb]

I was wrong about the original diameter I wanted to go up a size but originals were 3/8 diameter. But thanks that's what I was thinking.

[Paul D.]

I removed a rudder and added a pintle and gudgeon to a wooden Atkins Ingrid in preparation for offshore work. The owner, who built the boat, and I used copper rod to attach the fittings. I remember having only about 1/8" or rod protruding either end which was about 5/8" diameter. I peened while Captain Dennis (With one eye and one tooth, I'm serious.) held a 4lb mallet flat on the other end. It took a while but the ends curved round nicely. An added benefit was all the old timers in the marina, which was in Auckland New Zealand, came around saying they thought they were hearing things from the past and couldn't believe it was real. If I remember rightly one of them did mention the importance of not having too much end for a nice round end which tightened up the fittings solidly. We also used this method for fitting beefier main and mizzen silicon bronze goosenecks, which Dennis had hand carved the molds for out of wood and then had cast at a local foundry. Old school.

It was a wonderful afternoon for a 26 year old future boat owner.

[jbenagh]

There is a bit of an art to peening. You want to hit in the center but let the hammer move to the outside. It's like you are pushing the metal around to make a head. Do use a ball peen hammer (the round end). You might practice on some copper (or steel, but harder) nails with the ends nipped off.

Jeff