1997 Sunsport rudder replacement

[Supra-in-steamboat]

Unless your rudder is noticeably bent, I would start by replacing the cable. If you still have issue once everything is back together with the new cable I would then assess your rudder. Good luck.

[Ptownkid]

^what he said...I have a hard time believing your rudder needs replacing unless you know it hit something. It may just need some tlc.

[Blackntan90]

I thought there were 2 different rudder config's on these boats- 1 had O-rings that wear out and the other had wax rope packing that wears out. Mine has a little side to side slop in it with 300 hours also. About 1/8 inch play measured at the lowest point on the rudder from the hull. it still tracks good though. I also thought the skidim rudders were not a direct replacement but require some fabrication and glass work from what I have read. I could be wrong, though.

[Ptownkid]

Afaik, the only mod was that sometimes you had to enlarge the main hole in the boat. The Skidim one comes with mounting slots for the hardware so that it fits a wide variety of hole patterns.