Another quick question... Seems like I asking something everyday. If it's too much let me know....

I'm replacing the base castings for my rudders (I broke them in the surf the second to the last day I was sailing at Pawleys Island, SC) and I noticed that the previous owner had fitted Ty-Raps around that base castings to fill the slot between the base casting and the rudder itself.

Is this standard practice to ensure the rudders don't vibrate in the castings or should I be using Teflon washers or both?

TIA

When the blades are down, you don't want them sloping about. If you pack the whole pivot, they will be stiff to get up and down - a little packer in the right place is all that is needed

it's standard practice - it works better than the washers because it supports the rudder further out from that pivot point. If you have a selection of different sized wire ties, size them up to remove the slop with the rudders down. They usually don't inhibit the rudder up/down mechanism either.