Weird rudder pintles???

[StuartC]

Hello, loving sailing 3118 and hopefully will have some good sails sorted soon.
One strange thing which I have never seen before is the rudder system on the boat. It has one long pin that drops down in the holes on the pintles. Is that normal for Nat 12 of this age?. Wanting to change is at looks bizarre but struggle to find a defect apart from the asthetics. Thanks. Stuart.
 
 

[sam293]

its a rudder pin i think. its just an alternative to pintells, used more with dagger board rudders. quite common on many differnt classes. but perfectly fine. not sure if its normal for a boat of that  age but im sure someone will be able to tell you.

[StuartC]

Cheers Sam...
Will probably stick it out for a while then, but put an alloy tiller on the to do list after my sails, boom, tiller extension, new jib sheets... Costing me a fortune this second boat stuff..

[Antony (Guest)]

Stuart,
3123, another Hoare Tigress that i owned as my first 12, had the same arrangement.  I think that in some ways it is more robust than the more common arrangement, partly as it cannot float up off the pin and then bend something.  From memory it worked very well and my only problem with it was a constant fear of losing the pin and having no idea where to find another one....
Have fun,
Antoyn

[StuartC]

Yes that was my concern.. I think I will stick with it till it's turn comes around on the todo list... Thanks. Stuart.

[Phil Brown]

The pins are made by RWO

Available from Marine Megastore. Probably Aardvark or Bloodaxe as well as they are commonly used by the foilers

[sam293]

http://shop.pinbax.com/index.asp?selection=detailed&uid=6230&itemtitle=Rudder%20Pin
heres one avaiable at p&b, prob the easiest way to get one

[Antony (Guest)]

Those new pins with the hook end are nothing like what i am thinking about.  The one i had only had a 90 degree turn in the 'hook' end which sat in the top of the stock. 
Stuart, i would not rush to switch it, just be careful not to lose it.. it is a perfectly good system and you are better off spending your money on things that might make a difference.
Antony

[THG]

Had one of those long pin / hook jobbies on the last 2 twelves - they end to fit very tight - and can even be a bit of a pain to pull out.  Never lost one - but now you've got me worried next time and maybe I'll fumble it  - but I fit rudder before going out as a drop down - a fixed rudder with this would be most problematic I would have thought..

[StuartC]

I will upload a photo soon so you can see... Stu

[Jerry G (Guest)]

N2997 Cheshire Cat had this type of pin.  very sturdy.  Always fitted and removed ashore.  Had "safety pin" through bottom end to avoid accidental loss.

[Phil Brown]

Thanks Jerry. I was thinking of an easy way of securing mine. The simple ideas are always the best!

[JohnMurrell]

And I had the same system on Bedlam (2425) and Bullet (2672). As a belt and braces the one on Bullet also had a lacing eye with one of the screw holes filed open. This swiveled around the top of the pin and effectively locked in in position.

[John Meadowcroft]

3515 also has weird rudder pintles....  you are right in thinking that it is nigh on impossible to put the rudder on once the boat is afloat.  dont worry about it.  It is a reasonable if less popular way of fixing rudder to boat

[StuartC]

Yes, I had to take it off and replace last Thursday night, I found once you had the top one through it took abit of strength the keep the blade being bent up as the boat moved but got there eventually.. 
 Still on the look out for a mainsail if anyone has one?, the one I bought with the boat the other week was described as good for club racing. However it has more holes than an airtex shirt so really desperate for one to last for a couple of years for club racing. Stu