Plastic Classic Forum

kowens

Hi. My Triton has a cracked fiberglass stern tube. Multiple cracks radiate forward from the aft end of the tube. The longest I have found yet penetrates forward of the deadwood into the tube about an inch. Some seem to have been caused by the cutlass bearing set screws being cranked down on a bearin...

kowens

Here is a design idea. Instead of bronze, use a stainless steel shaft with only two bends. Weld three stainless plates as shown. No rudder shoe. Instead, pintels will bolt through the lower two plates. The whole thing will have a fiberglass skin over a foam core.

kowens

Thank you James. I will contact you next week. Ken.

kowens

IT CRACKED!! As I was doing the third and final bend, the rudder shaft cracked! The bend that cracked is located at the factory bend on Triton rudders. I started bending at the bottom to accurately place the machined end as accepts the rudder shoe. The first two bends went ok. FYI this played out ju...

kowens

Hi. I am trying to decide on the rudder strap/gudgeon layouts as shown in the pics below. I plan to install a lower rudder bearing and a shoe and either one or two Alberg 30 style gudgeons. Either 4 of 5 straps. To match the neutral buoyancy test I should use one strap per foot, ie 5. The small elbo...

kowens

Hi. Cold bronze test strap bent well except for a slight bow which you can see running vertically on the left side of the freshly bent strap in the attached image. The surface of the bend also developed a slight "orange peel" texture from stretching. Do you think heat would help reduce the...

kowens

Hi. I cut up an old bed frame and attached it to my pipe bender making a press to bend the bronze straps for the rudder. I also made a die to press the straps into by bending a piece of steel. I have been practicing on bits of aluminum. At first the bender warped the straps. You can see it in thinne...

kowens

Thanks. I like the added buoyancy, and security provided by the watertight lockers. Perhaps I could add them but have large watertight access hatches port and starboard for engine access. Exhaust plumbing etc. is an issue but sorting it out seems like the right thing to do.

kowens

Thanks. The rudder tube on Dragonfly is unsupported. Below is an image. At the top of the rudder tube there is only a Delron bushing with rubber o-rings. I will strengthen it as you suggest when I get back to the boat. What suggestion might you have for the location of a waterproof locker? Perhaps I...

kowens

Thanks. Never thought about the boat being out of alignment. The aft edge of the rudder shaft has been rubbing on the rudder tube as if the rudder was being pushed aft under way. This may account for the forward bend in the old rudder stock. Have you ever put a bushing on the rudder stock just where...

kowens

I have made a jig for bending the full length bronze rudder stock. The first test bend with 7/8 steel rod was successful. You can see the bent shaft laying on the old rudder. Note the old rudder shaft is not true near the top and it is misaligned with the new shaft. What do you guys think?

kowens

My rudder shoe and stock are bronze. Should I connect them bronze on bronze or use a bushing? Thanks

kowens

Thanks. Hope Mira's rudder is in better shape than Dragonfly's.

kowens

Cool Video! Maybe on my next boat I'll use carbon fiber! Below is a pic of my final test rudder with a welded strap. During buoyancy tests, it had positive buoyancy before I tapered the trailing edge. After the taper and adding one layer of 1708, it is nearly neurally buoyant and very strong. I foun...

kowens

Thanks. My test rudder is made out of scrap steel and lumber so I can practice. I have already purchased a bronze rudder shaft for the final project which I plan to run the entire length of the rudder and insert it in a shoe. I would need to weld bronze straps to this. The pro in the video I posted ...

kowens

Thanks! I want to make it strong. I'll weld on some steel straps for practice. Might need a pro to weld the bronze.

kowens

To test the rudder design, I am building a the test/practice rudder and could use some advise. The test rudder is made from two mahogany boards joined by an epoxied tongue and groove joint. The test rudder shaft is made from pipe bolted through both boards. All hardware in the final rudder will be s...

kowens

Hey CapnK. Thanks for the suggestions. As for dowels, what do you think about extending three of carriage bolts to go all the way across the rudder? You can see their rough placement indicated by the black marker drawing. I will have to make them out of 3/8 rod since I couldn't find any 21" long.

kowens

Hi Guys. Solid Mahogany costs the same as plywood at my location, so I decided to make the Triton's rudder core from it. I was wondering if anyone has any idea about how to scarf the boards together. I was going to join the larger board to the full length bronze rudder stock with long carriage bolts...

kowens

Hi Everyone, I took the drum side of the Lofrans Royal Windlass apart. The secret is to use a puller to remove the disk that holds the handle. There is a snap ring behind this disk preventing the vertical gear from being removed. It is not clear from the Lofrans website which side of the housing thi...

kowens

Hi, The slop seems to be in the plastic bushings and as you suggest, I saw them online at p2marine. The windlass is also stiff on the line side of the winch. Check out the casting flaw in the gear on that side. They want $84 for a new gear. Think I'll get one of those too. Is this gear just pressed ...

kowens

Hi Everyone,

I just bought a used Lofrans Royal manual windlass. It was a bit stiff so I took it apart for cleaning and found
the horizontal gears to have excessive plan. They basically rattle around on their plastic bushings.

How much play should they have?

Thanks,
Ken.

kowens

Also, I propose to remove the two inch strip of rudder along the line drawn to protect it from grounding.

kowens

Thanks, I didn't know they were so heavy but I liked the emergency tiller feature and thought is was powerful enough to steer a Triton. I saw a nice one on ebay but someone beat me to it. The current bid was $511. While I was waiting to bid, some made the seller a private offer and bought it. Didn't...

kowens

Hi Everyone, The rudder shoe for my Triton showed up. It is for a Pearson Ensign but it looks like it will work. The width of the shoe is 1 and 5/8 inches near where the rudder attaches and the angles look right. I am now leaning towards a glassed over plywood laminate as suggested by atomvoyager. M...

kowens

Anyone have experience with hydrovane self steering gear on a Triton or on other boats?

kowens

Hi James, Thanks for the reply. I ordered a rudder shoe that will keep the rudder a few inches above the keel bottom as you suggest. It's for a Pearson Ensign but the dimensions seem right. I will have turn the end of the rudder shaft down to 5/8". I'll post some actual numbers when it arrives....

kowens

I propose to make a new fiberglass rudder of the same shape but with an internal full length bronze rudder shaft shown by the green tape. The wooden pieces laying on top represent welded on bronze supports. I bought a pipe bender to shape the bronze and plan to build Alberg 30 type pintles and rudde...

kowens

Hi,

This is the current state of Dragonfly's rudder.

You can see that wood has been replaced under each pintle and on the trailing edge by previous owners.

Ken.

kowens

Thanks. I'll post pictures of my progress here.

kowens

Hi James, Thanks for the reply. Dragonfly has an inboard Yanmar and I would like install a shoe as in the last pic. I am leaning towards the Alberg 30 design with pintels in the middle and a shoe on the bottom. Any idea on where to find the shoe and pintels? I have looked but without success. The li...

kowens

Hi, My Triton Dragonfly does not have a rudder shoe and I am considering adding one to strengthen the rudder during its current rebuild. I don't know if it was due to rot or grounding but both of the pintle mounting locations on the rudder were replaced by wooden blocks epoxied on to form new mount ...

kowens

Does anyone have details on fitting a rudder shoe to a Triton?

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