Hey guys, In the photos I posted on this thread you will notice that there is a bolt that goes through the quadrant and rudder post. Is this bolt the only fastener holding the rudder in place? I got a below deck autopilot and need to get the rudder post diameter for a custom Edson below deck tiller arm.
I figure if I have a friend support the rudder I can pull that bolt and lower it enough to get the gray spacer out and measure the diameter that way.
Any suggestions?
I think our quadrant is very similar, if not identical to what I see in the picture. The two bolts on each side thread into the quadrant squeeze the back "plate" ? that your cables are attached to around the shaft to the quadrant. The through bolt eliminates the rudder shaft from being able to spin independently from the quadrant.
Not sure how much access you have under there, but you could just take off the quadrant completely and measure the exposed rudder shaft. Will your rudder fall down? I don't know, but it sounds like you have a friend for that. Our rudder shaft is held on by a gudgeon and cannot fall down.
If worried about the rudder falling, you could just take off the 4 bolts, the cables and the nut of the through bolt. Punch the bolt back from the quadrant, but not all the way out. (All while supporting the quadrant.) You could trace the rudder half circle onto a piece of paper and finish the circle to measure.
Chris