Ariel 408 LINDA ANNE

It would appear the rudder shoe has disappeared, what's the plan for replacement?

This is the rudder shoe that is now installed I will keen it for now..

Linda Anne with bottom scrapped, sanded and painted with the new rudder installed and ready for paint..

A better pic of the rudder installed..

Don't forget the GUDGEON STRAP.

I have thoughts of not reinstalling the Gudgeon strap, the strap had worn a deep 1" wide groove in the old rod, maybe you could help by giving me reasons to reuse it, there are 4 large stainless screws through the shaft into the rudder and six layers of resin around the rod and over rudder. my thoughts are, enough is enough, but I am wrong on occasion.....

The copper strap keeps the rudder shaft inline
so that when it gets bumped up out of its seat in the shoe
it will fall back into place.

The rudder system is held in place at the ends of the six foot shaft
by the shoe.... and by the plastic bearing under the tiller head fitting.

The tiller head shaft fitting is not designed to keep the rudder in the boat
if it is not seated in the rudder shoe.
The shoe takes the full weight and work of shaft and rudder blade.
The shaft alone can weigh 22lbs, if I recall.

The "GUDGEON" is in reality a piece of copper strap that holds the shaft
in allgnment with the top bearing sleeve and the seat in the shoe.
IT SHOULD NOT BE ANY TIGHTER THAN NECESSARY.
It seems unlikely that a copper strap could wear a groove in a bronze shaft.
The bronze shaft you mention could have experienced internal galvanic corrosion
if the wrong alloy was used in salt water.
Or not zinced.

When it comes time to remove the rudder, screws or nuts are removed
from one side of the strap, the strap is then bent 'open' about 90 degrees
and with the sleeve bearing removed from the rudder tube
the shaft and blade can be lifted out of the shoe, shifted to port or starboard
enough to bypass the shoe and allow it to be dropped out of the boat.

This is why there is no bearing in the boat where the shaft enters the tube,
as there is in many other sailboats including Pearson's first commercial success:
the Triton. Our system requires that there be adequate open space in the hull
where the shaft enters.

Imco the gudgeon strap should be included in your rebuild.....for safety.
All 700 of the factory Ariels and Commanders had that strap. (not entirely sure.)
The long shaft needs that third midpoint connection to stabilize the system.
imco.

Thanks, I have secured the bottom of the shaft to the after market shoe with a 1/4-20 bolt and washers, it can not jump out of the (shoe) I had a hole drilled in the top of the shaft and tapped to take a 1/4-20 bolt, to mount a strap there, just seemed to be a better application...