Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board

Tiller Arm Thanks

Posted By: Paul J
Date: Monday, 11 July 2005, at 5:59 p.m.

Capt. Patrick...
Thanks for getting me the tiller arms! They arrived Saturday, July 2nd. I had the boat hauled out to do the repairs that afternoon rather than try to do in in the water. Good thing too. The old top bearings were more than difficult to remove. I had to use a diamond cutter to remove one from the shaft of the starboard rudder. Also, the starboard rudder wouldn't come out without great "persuasion". We had to pound it out with a 3lb hammer. This caused the 1" shaft to "mushroom" a bit. The rudder had to be ground out to remove the mushroom and all burrs and corrosion. I used a brake cylinder honing tool to clean out the ports. I cleaned the rudders to bright metal and applied appropriate bottom paint "system".

By hauling out, I was able to disassemble the stuffing boxes on the rudders. I cleaned them up to reveal that they were stamped "Chris Craft" on both units. I repacked the glands and put everything together.

If anyone wants to know details on how to do this, drop me a note. I have some "lessons learned" that could save you some time and trouble.