Rudder Casting Problems

After nearing completion of the upgrade of my H16 im having some big issues with my rudder castings.
Firstly the castings seem to have closed up , meaning that when i have gone to put the blades into the casting there is bearly enough room and this means that i have to force the rudders to rotate up and down ....How would i be best to open the casting up again without breaking them? (i believe they are really expensive!)

Secondly i seem to be having issues with the new one piece rudder gudgeons..the screws are interfering with the proper movement of the rudder casting from side to side...

Any ideas? Want to be sailing by this weekend ...and looking doubtful at present!

many thanks

On both counts I recommend grinding material off the castings. Take a little off where it hits the screw. Grind some off inside to open up for the rudder. Not likely that they have actually "closed up". Different rudder blades? Castings do not like to be bent... they crack, so grinding the inside is best.

hmmm... I have a different aproach... Take your calliper and confirm your "closing up" theory. Check it the opening on the castings is paralle. lIIRC the gap for the blade is about 25mm wide. Most of the Lexan blades are way thinner... mine are 22mm. The blades made in composite construction might be thicker.
Most of the lexan blades are not really flat/plane in the area where they fit in the rudder castings. Fourtunately the lexan blades will allow some sanding to get them back in shape.
Bending the castings might be possible. Remove all the plastic stuff on them. Warm them befor you start bending. Place them in a big vice so that your bending is more controled. Any Yes they are not cheap.

Patrick

Scott,
You say that there is barely enough room to insert the rudder in the casting. I assume that means thay you don't force them in. The bolt that holds them and acts as a pivot should have an elastic stop nut so you don't have to tighten down (and clamp) the rudder. How much force does it take to pivot the rudder? My guess is that while sailing, there will be enough forces tending to open up the castings that you won't have a problem. I have the opposite problem after 20 years of sailing my Hobie 16 and that is that I need shims. I cut them from plastic milk bottles with a hole saw and use what I need. I don't try to overtighten the bolt to squeeze the castings.

Howard

I was thinking that the mast bearings would work quite well for the rudder shims. I bought the $6 kit from hobie and the shims they supplied were about a 1/32 of an inch thick. Didn't really do much for my 20 year old castings. The mast bearings are about a 1/16 of an inch thick and probably would work pretty well. But I will say that the milk jug idea sounds whole lot cheaper.