Rudder Head Assembly Pearson Ariel

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TheBonnieBoat
Bottom Sanding Grunt
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Joined: Sun Jun 02, 2019 9:31 pm
Boat Name: Firefly
Boat Type: Pearson Ariel

Rudder Head Assembly Pearson Ariel

Post by TheBonnieBoat »

Hey all,

My tiller has a bit of play in it, it always has, and I'm considering trying to fix it. As far as I can tell there's a bit of movement both between the straps that attach the tiller to the rudder head, and between the rudder head and the rudder stock itself. Has anyone dealt with this before? There's not a ton of play in the system, but the boat carries alot of helm at times so I'm just picturing yanking the tiller back and forth and breaking something eventually. Am I being paranoid? Rig Rite Inc has some cast bronze replacement parts that look promising, anyone have experience with them? Thanks!

https://www.rigrite.com/Hardware/Rudder ... er%20Heads
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atomvoyager
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Re: Rudder Head Assembly Pearson Ariel

Post by atomvoyager »

The most common problem with them is the holes between tiller strap and rudder head have worn and elongated and they don't have enough shoulder to drill and add a larger bolt. I would take the old rudder head off and inspect where the looseness is in that. I assume you've tried tightening the bolts already. You may be able to drill and tap a 1/4" bolt to act as a set screw that presses against the shaft. But that only helps if the holes are not worn. Suggest you phone Rig-rite and ask if they have the items in stock and price. In the past I always found they didn't stock the items listed that I needed and the price was high. Is your rudder shaft 1". If so, you can buy a new strap and head assembly from Edson or Spartan Marine but check what side the keyway faces. In the past I've had to take the new rudder head to a local machine shop to have another keyway machined because the slot didn't line up with the shaft. Let us know what Rig-rite says.
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