Rudder tube repairs

It's only two months since my last post and... only two and a half months to launch!  Guess I'd better pull my finger out.   A major issue which needs sorting is the rudder.  Its been a problem every year .  First  the pintle snapped off so I had a bucket made to fit on the rudder with a new pintle on it.  Then the bracket failed so I beefed that up, lastly the pintle snapped off the new fitting as well as shearing off the screws which held on the lower bearing. so this year I decided to start again.   

The stock, tube and flange.

I've managed to scrounge together most of the bits I need. Richard supplied the 25mm Stainless bar which will be the rudder stock, a good friend supplied another bit of stainless tube which had a natty flange on it and a customer gave me a length of stainless tube with a one inch internal diameter and he also kindly put a BSPT thread on one end.

Tube fits nicely inside current rudder tube.

The tube is currently over length but that's fine. It fits nicely inside the current rudder tube and the stock fits nicely inside the tube.   I intend to cut the tube so that it is just long enough to go through the hull, leaving a thread poking out of the bottom.  The flange will be welded to the top and will be screwed to the deck,and I can then put a nut on the bottom and sandwich it all together.

The flange will secure the top of the tube to the deck.

I will have to slice the rudder blade in two to remove it from the current stock.  I will then need to find someone to weld some tangs onto the new stock and then I'll epoxy it back together on the new stock.

Just need a nut to sandwich it all together.

The stock will protrude out of the bottom of the blade and I will use an offcut from the tube to make the bottom bearing.  The bracket for the tiller will also have to be remade but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.