E27 replacement rudder head

Hey folks,

New Ericson 27 owner here based in the Puget Sound. I've found a decent sized crack running adjacent to the tensioning bolt on the rudder head. Has anyone replaced this part at all? I could think of a couple ways to mend the crack using metal epoxy or a mending plate, but replacement would be ideal.
Curious if there are any recommendations on how to get a new/used rudder head. ..Is this something that would need to be custom fabricated?

Thanks for the time.

-Reggie

I have often been pleasantly surprised at what a good SS welding/fabricating small shop can do to replace a part like this. And a lot faster than I imagined, too.
I know of an expert craftsman with his own small shop in my area (he quickly built our new SS handrails) and he would like a small project like this. It might be done in welded SS or aluminum. I am unsure if anyone has the exact casting part stored away after all these decades, altho some on this site might know.
Some research may give you a road map forward.

Upon second thought, that person might just bend an SS strap to go around the part and cover/reinforce that whole base area of the old casting. Sort of like the SS parts that Christian had made up for the boom end casting on his boat.

Yeah having it fab'ed seems like a decent way to go, am prepared to draft up the part. Maybe can post the drawing afterwards.. The tensioning tabs this crack is on the base of seem fairly cosmetic, though? It seems there's another bolt (going perpendicularly through the top of the rudder stock I'm assuming) that attaches the rudder head to the rudder.

I believe that the part is chrome plated bronze. A talented welder should be able grind out that crack and repair it.

Afrakes said:

I believe that the part is chrome plated bronze. A talented welder should be able grind out that crack and repair it.

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Awesome, was curious on the metal as it doesn't seem to be SS. Repairing will definitely be a lower energy fix

The tensioning bolt helps eliminate the wobble of the head on the shaft. On my 73 E-27 the wear was significant enough that I added shim stock to the rudder shaft to eliminate the play.

reginaldobaker said:

Awesome, was curious on the metal as it doesn't seem to be SS. Repairing will definitely be a lower energy fix

Click to expand...

Don't know if these guys would be appropriate or not, but we used them to fabricate a Juliette balcony for our second story and they did a pretty good job:

Is that a through-bolt visible in the photo? If so, the bolt is doing the real work and I'm not sure this merits much attention.

Perhaps a shim if there's wobble.

(I'd replace that rusty grease fitting if possible)

Reggie,

Have you tried the wrecking yard up in Lynden?


It's a bit of a drive from Seattle, but It's fun to take a look. I've been there a few times and both times they had a few Ericson's being parted out.

Afrakes said:

The tensioning bolt helps eliminate the wobble of the head on the shaft. On my 73 E-27 the wear was significant enough that I added shim stock to the rudder shaft to eliminate the play.

Click to expand...

My E27 has significant wobble at this point. I will try what you suggested. Have any pics?

That boat is long since gone. You have to measure the outside of the rudder post and the inside of the head to determine the amount of and location of wear. The wear is not going to be even all the way around. With that information you can determine what thickness of shim stock to purchase.

That looks a bit different from what I have, but as noted above, I assume that it's a cast bronze piece, like mine. As such they can only be brazed, not welded. But I had a local machine shop do that to my tiller bracket. Someone had done a poor job of it in the past (only one side of a break was mended, leaving a deep crack). While waiting for that, I looked around and discovered that buying a replacement really isn't a thing. Nothing large enough seems to be on the market. However, it probably wouldn't be difficult to have a new one fabricated. Though it likely wouldn't be as elegant as the cast parts that came stock on our boats. I did a dock walk and noted that most of the newer tiller-steered boats just had pretty simple brackets made from bar stock.