Dart 15 Forums

My Port hand rudder blade is now virtually impossible to raies or lower using the tiller and when it is down it doesn't lock. I have to lean over the back of the boat and physically push the blade down. Am I right in thinking that a service repair kit is available and if so will it cure the problem?

Will loosening the pivot bolt help or will this induce slop into the steering?

Hi Martin
It sounds like the locking roller is not working properly. This happens if you have ground the rudder on the bottom with it locked down. Try taking the rudder to pieces and have a look. You only need the full repair kit if the central bolt is seized onto the bearing bush. So a good starting point is to undo the nut on the big pivot bolt and see if you can knock the bolt out. If you can't you will need the full kit. If you get the kit from Windsport they now come with delryn bushes and washers which will not seize on like the old ones do. The parts list on this website shows a good exploded view of the parts in a rudder. There are lots of items on this chat page telling you how to cut off the bolt with a hack saw if it is seized.
Best of Luck
Bob

Hi Martin
Searching on "hacksaw" does the trick. I've just refreshed a couple of them (below). The parts list & exploded view of the rudder is under manuals - parts list.
Cheers
Bob

As always plenty of good advice to be going on with. Many thanks.

Rudder problem has been solved with liberal quantities of boiling water, rudder waggling and a squirt of WD40 down the shaft. Goes up and down a treat. Thanks for all the tips.