homemade rudder steering problem

[tane]

of course more maintenance-intensive than ball joints...

 

[jdory]

of course more maintenance-intensive than ball joints...

Interesting boat! Thanks

 

[jdory]

I think I solved my problem simply.. by using some spacers between the rudder arm and ball joint, and the bolt nut and ball joint. Turned out it was just binding otherwise. As SolGato indicated.

 

[jdory]

Sometimes a flexible sheathed SS push-pull cable has solved close quarter and sharp angle issues for me, in addition to some above suggested methods, or separately. Just an idea, discard if not useful.

Thanks for the idea.. I could see how that might work. I did get what I hope is a solution. (I quit getting notifications so missed all the following posts..)

 

[jdory]

Not sure what your bolt size is, but this place has options for SS high misalignment rod end bushings:

Rod Ends / Heims > Rod Ends

Browse our selection of Rod Ends / Heims here at Figspeed High Performance Speed & Marine Parts Shop.

www.figspeed.com

SImilar options from McMaster Carr:

Ball Joint Rod End Inserts

Ball Joint Rod End Reducers

Maybe tolerances don't matter much, but would it be worth using shoulder bolts instead of standard bolts? Standard bolts will be a sloppy fit in a tie rod end, and stuff you don't want moving and wearing may do so. If you use a high-misalignment washer or bushing with a standard bolt, keeping them concentric with the rod end insert will be difficult. Same-size thread shoulder bolts from McMaster Carr:

Same-Size Thread Stainless Steel Hex-Drive Shoulder Screws

Thanks for the ideas.. I did look at McMaster's but not stainless. I fashioned some out of copper.. we'll see if it works.

 

[jdory]

This is effectively what I was describing in option 3 of my post.

This joint is oversized and accepts stepped stand-off sleeves that fit the ID of the joint reducing the pivot bolt size and allowing for more articulation.

If the joint is just barely binding, you might be able to simply get away with a sleeve spacer top and bottom.

This would be easy to mock up and test with other materials (like washers as suggested) before committing to finding/fabricating solid 316 bushings.

There is a supplier in CA that I use for 316 bushings like this.

For what he charges, it’s typically not even worth uncovering my lathe to make my own unless I can’t wait for some reason and already have material on hand.

Thanks much for that! Good to know. I did fashion some out of copper.. using lock nuts so it doesn't have to be tightened down too much to compress the copper. Hopefully it and stainless get along ok.

 

[jdory]

My thoughts as well, but a lower track may get in the way of the outboards?

Nice looking boat and somewhat similar rudder steering arrangement. Right now the bars clear the outboards by about an inch, so I don't have any room to lower them. Underneath was what Kurt showed in the drawings, but I couldn't see how that would work with the outboards. Could be it would work and I just couldn't see it, but I'm doubtful.

 

[jdory]

Scavenging marine parts is the way to go . I have 4 of windsurfing masts that I intended to use for crab claw sails.

One of my bars is a windsurfing mast. I could not locate a second, so the other one is one I made with carbon fiber.

 

[jdory]

@philSweet - Pretty sure the boat is a Kurt Hughes CM design that @jdory built decades ago and is getting back into service. Critiques of this modifcation may be warranted, but he's also working around existing kick-up rudder cassettes and shafts. I'm guessing the rudders are pretty well balanced, he knows the stall limits, and can adjust Ackermann angle by changing strut length and clamping position of the tiller heads . I would have suggested high-range tie rod ends, but don't know of any in SS.

Good luck finishing the project!

bingo! Thank you! Yes, it was that boat.. got crushed by a barge in 1994.. sat afterward for many years in a shop I built over it.. and then spent the last several years fixing it up and finishing it. Whole story for anyone interested in how it was built and then finished on my flickr album: boat building

 

[tropostudio]

The flickr album is great! Nice save on the hull, and all the work to finish it up is a testament to patience and ingenuity.

Is the boom your design? Is the mast in hand - I just see a stub section that looks like was being used for hardware fit-ups.

Sailing only now, or will it still be a workboat? Stay away from work barges

 

[jdory]

The flickr album is great! Nice save on the hull, and all the work to finish it up is a testament to patience and ingenuity.

Is the boom your design? Is the mast in hand - I just see a stub section that looks like was being used for hardware fit-ups.

Sailing only now, or will it still be a workboat? Stay away from work barges

The boom is Kurt's design.. he had some kind of stacker wings also but what I did was my design, closely trying to follow his. The mast was an old one that was slightly under spec. I sleeved it to make it a couple feet longer since I added the cuddy cabin (not in the design) to raise the boom a bit over it. Being old, it had a lot of unused pieces.. hardware that left holes here and there. So I wasn't thrilled with the mast, but it was in hand. However, I had a friend help stand it using a man-lift so I could measure the forestay. As I was tightening a shroud, the mast (being let go of the man-lift) toppled over. It got a small dent that further weakened it. Story is here: https://forums.sailinganarchy.com/threads/catastrophic-failure-on-my-part-mast-came-down.258009/ Lots of advice there, but sort of want to build a carbon mast - would be a nice challenge. But having some difficulty getting a design. One thing is I have to get the boat in the water to measure how the waterline sits to the water.. something to do with displacement that the mast designers want. Hoping to maybe get that this summer yet.. but lots of life getting in the way.

Part of my reticence of getting it in the water is our small boat harbor is jam packed with homebuilt or otherwise crude ocean gold dredges, fishing boats, and barges. Jam packed! So I'm quite nervous. Plan on just a sailboat.. done with work. City has a grant to add more dockage in the river (far right of the image overlook of the harbor) but won't be done until end of next year, if then. That image is old.. lots more crowded now. Another image with some of the crowd, but it is actually worse now.




That one shows a sailboat waiting to transit the NW passage.. or just from there, I forget.

 

[tropostudio]

Looks like a close-quarters mish-mash, with breathing room amidst. Great Lakes, South shore of Superior, much cozier behind a breakwater. You won't find many commercial boats, but room for a multihull? Good luck finding and end tie if you can't fold. Mooring buoy? Uh, nope