With the rudders finally installed for good, next I had to align them. When we moved the boat back in 2009, the rudders weren’t aligned and it was a bear keeping the boat on course.
Rudder aiming jig
I used Harbor Freight clamps to attach some 3″x 48″ scrap 3/4″ plywood to the rudder. I’d cut the plywood using my EZ-One Smart Table. so the cuts were perfectly straight. On the other side, I used a 48″ aluminum level.
Bosche laser measuring tool makes it a breeze
With my Bosche GLR225 up against the 3/4″ plywood on the port side, the red laser dot on the aluminum level that’s attached to the stbd rudder tells me I’m measuring the right location.
Distance between the fronts
Repeat at the back
Distance between the rears
The measurements are in meters and, because I’m measuring forward and to the rear of the actual leading and trailing edges of the rudders, the toe-in and toe-out are exaggerated. Initially, there was a toe-in condition of ~15mm. The older I get, the more I wish the U.S. had switched to the metric system way back in the 1970s. It’s sooo much easier doing the math.
So…we need some toe-out. I crawled out from under the boat, ran up the ladder, across the aft deck, down into the salon and from there into the aft stateroom, where I pulled the pin on the rudder tie rod so I could adjust it.
Adjusting the tie rod between the rudders
Then…back to the salon, up to the aft deck, down the ladder, and crawl under the boat to take another measurement.
Once more
All that work and all I got was 3mm off the leading edge???
On the trailing edge…getting closer
Once again, up the ladder and back again.
Closer still, but not quite there
And again back and forth…
Finally…
The magic numbers match
With the rudders set at zero toe, next I centered them.
Eyeballing shows they’re pretty close to center
Again, the Bosche GLR225 helps make easy work of it
The laser dot is offset on the prop hub
But the laser tells a different story farther away
At the shaft log, where the prop shaft enters the hull, the laser dot is inboard, toward the center of the shaft. This means the rudders are pointed slightly off center. If the boat was running, she’d be turning slightly to port. Calling for the missus to turn the helm to stbd, we centered the rudders in no time. And that’s a wrap for the rudders.
Next up on our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Demise of the Evil Helm Windshield Frames
1969chriscraftroamer46 