Rudder at the bottom of the lake

[riveredge]

Of course this is no guarantee, but that same rudder in my '89 was an exact fit, requiring no modification whatsoever. I used loc-tite on the set screw that holds the rudder in, since it's just that and the tiller arm clamp that hold it into the boat. The rest of the installation was quick and easy, except for laying on the floor of the boat and reaching in under the gas tank, but that's just a little uncomfortable, not complicated. No leaks, and the boat steers like brand new.

Good luck, it should be pretty straightforward.

[stinky_1]

Thanks. I am hoping it goes easy.

I was planning on draining the gas tank and pulling it out to do this job. I have read that its possible to do it through that access in the floor but I think I would rather have all the space I need to do it through the top

[riveredge]

If you can get the tank out, by all means, do it. I couldn't get mine out, so I settled for having it up about 4" for a little extra room.

[jet]

Man..that sucks. I would have bought a salvage one to fix that prob.

[riveredge]

Man..that sucks. I would have bought a salvage one to fix that prob.

A salvage tank? I put the old one back down to its original position after installing the rudder, I just couldn't get it all the way out of the boat, or at least not without WAY more effort than just working underneath it with it raised up a little.

[pwildbil]

My 92 Comp steers hard to the right also.....Now i'm a little worried.....Stinky_1 or anyone else any idea what caused this??? I am gonna take a look at mine tonight when I get home.

[riveredge]

Right hand rotation (at the prop) tends to turn harder to the right anyway. But if you want to check out your rudder, grab it at the bottom and work it back and forth, it should have little to no play. Mine was actually bent and cracked where the shaft meets the rudder, which is why I replaced it; it also had probably 1/8" of movement at the bottom of the rudder port.

Yours may just need new packing, or grease, to improve your steering feel. Most rudders will have a little play, unless they're brand new.

[DAFF]

Power turns are mostly done to the right hand side... Keep those shafts lubed with some high quality marine grease!!! Nothing better to keep the seal water tight and EZ to turn. Also watch out for bent bolts and the marine plywood rot on the upper portion of the shaft hole.

[riveredge]

Power turns are mostly done to the right hand side....

True with a LH rotation prop, but it's easier to the left, with a RH prop. Your 86 is probably LH like the 85 I had, but my 89 is RH. Of course rudder tuning is a factor too.

And good advice on the bent bolts, rotten wood, grease, etc... it's an often-neglected part of the boat!

[stinky_1]

wow, I missed a lot in the last week.

I know mine was turning to the left because my front fins are actually bent. I never noticed it before. I am suspecting that the previous owner had the boat rocking in the waves on the shore at some point. They are turned out to the right and curled a bit as well. This made the boat steer to the left at higher speeds. The rudder had to be turned 90 degrees off center to compensate and drive straight. I believe this to be why I had a hard time turning right.

I have 2 theories why my rudder broke.

1) Because the fins were riding on the rocks I think the rudder was as well. This put stress cracks in it. By having the boat wanting to turn left, and me doing a very hard right at speed it just bent those cracks open more and broke the whole thing off.

or

2) I hit a stick of some sort, it got into my prop which wedged it into the rudder and broke it off. I do have an extra ding in the prop now, but its hard to say for sure. What I do know is that I did not "see" any driftwood or sticks in the water in front of me just before it happened. So I am leaning towards #1.

I took some pics of the removal and install. Ill post them up in a minute