Once again, great information. Jim Brown seems so warm, open and true to his desire to get more people in boats. I'm glad to be part of that community!
So I bought my 17 maybe in 2004 or so.. paid $5k new. I sail in the Bering Sea (salt water) and maybe got a non-anodized rudder shaft because it froze up as you described. Of course I didn't know about the tab embedded in the plastic sleeve so I ripped that up trying to get the rudder shaft off. I ended up building a long reaching clamp with lumber and all-thread to lock that tab in place so I could really reef on the shaft. That and maybe a heat gun.. I was finally able to free it.. didn't have to cut the rudder shaft. I did order a new plastic sleeve from the company - I may have had to cut that off. (I don't remember all the particulars - it was a few years ago and the boat is buried under snow now in Nome Alaska - hope the deck plank doesn't poke thru the bow as it definitely gets a bit chilly here). I think I fabricated a spacer out of UHMW plastic because things got a bit tweaked and had to prop up the rudder a bit.. and I think I did just hose clamp the plastic tube inside the hull against the sleeve to prevent leaks. All seems to work fine. Thanks to Ziggy and Jim Brown for the little series! On my channel I have a little info on the larger catamaran I built using epoxy.
I'm about to tear into my rudder shaft too. There is too much play. Hopefully, I will just have to replace the plastic sleeve. Fingers crossed. Jim's instructions definitely takes some of the worries out of the project though.
The early boats built by Andy at Wilderness Systems, were better in many ways. The third owner widened the boat by 10 inches, which was unnecessary, and creates more twist in the hull under harsh conditions. I watched the first ones being built and then sailed on our local municipal lake. Later, I sailed Andy's boat, possibly the 2nd one off the line (he still has it). Very innovative boat that combined new ideas, new materials and new technology. There was a lot to go wrong but overall the boats came out just fine and probably haven't had much more in the way of problems or issues than any other sailboat out there.
Some lubricants may be destroying the Plastic sleeve as Jim noted. In plumbing applications a non petroleum silicone lubricant is used. A problem that Jim may not have noted is that some lubricants may help grit and sand and salt crystals etch the surface of the aluminum hastening oxidation. Lastly Aluminum oxide itself is abrasive. How is this problem avoided on other rudders thru hull designs.?
@@barryhogan783 no I don't although I have seen where ppl have made their own online b4. check the Windrider FB page. It wasn't long ago I saw a post on it.
