Rudder Upgrade - 2003 X2 (205V)

[ahhudgins]

I will be following this thread because the steering on my 95 Maristar has always been stiff under load, especially returning the rudder to the neutral position after a turn at speed. I can turn it with with one finger on the trailer and in the water, but it gets tighter when the boat is above 25mph and the farther the rudder is away from neutral. I replaced the cable, the clam shell clamp, and the steering wheel is free with the cable disconnected. I removed the rudder and cleaned out the old grease from the rudder port and re-greased it. All of this helped a little but my last step would be to replace the rudder and port.

Your tiller arm has the same part number as mine but I don't have a more detailed picture of my rudder port. My port has a weep hole on the underside of the boat and grease comes out of the hole when re-greasing. My port only has 2 o-rings, one on each end. The only "bushing" that mine has is a nylon washer between the tiller arm and the port. I noticed from the pictures that your steering cable is connected below the tiller arm, while mine is connected on top. I will try swapping my cable position and see if it makes a difference. I did the same research a few years ago and I was told that I would have to replace the rudder and port as a set.

[waterlogged882]

..I noticed from the pictures that your steering cable is connected below the tiller arm...

All I have seen are mounted on the bottom side of the tiller arm.

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[brucemac]

Really appreciate all the input here. I don’t have a problem taking it apart. I’m concerned about sourcing the right parts/pieces to put it all back together correctly. 20 year old boat surely means a rebuild if I drop that rudder. Part of me thinks, “if it ain’t broke,” but the guy who spent all last year bringing this boat back to shine wants a little more. Just looking for a proven path forward.

[waterlogged882]

Really appreciate all the input here. I don’t have a problem taking it apart. I’m concerned about sourcing the right parts/pieces to put it all back together correctly. 20 year old boat surely means a rebuild if I drop that rudder. Part of me thinks, “if it ain’t broke,” but the guy who spent all last year bringing this boat back to shine wants a little more. Just looking for a proven path forward.

I'd remove the rudder. It will most times drop out the bottom when disassembled (so be prepared) underneath. Confirm with the specs of the new shaft diameter and length to your current rudder port. Call that fellow that talks a whole lot (more than I can endure) and see if he will work with you on form and fit but from what I have read here, the correct part for the new style is listed. Tanis is the guy I am thinking about.

While you are there, remove the rudder port and replace the seals, or O-rings, etc. in the port opening. Would be silly not to do that while you are this far into it and is really easy. It will go right back in and seal the bolt holes with with your sealant of choice. I prefer 100% silicone. Done deal.

I have done this on half dozen or more old boats but in reality, the part(s) have no clue as to what they are mounted to. Has worked for me multiple times. Worse case? You send it back and get the refund on your credit card (not debit card). Best case? voilà.

photo credit to owner Ben.

US $0.02.

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[ahhudgins]

All I have seen are mounted on the bottom side of the tiller arm.

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Doesn't surprise me at all. Over the years I've found a lot of weird things on my boat.

[tph]

The rudder on our 205v is of the traditional design and size going back as far as those installed on the Stars and Stripes. (see first picture) The second picture shows my rudder (200176) next to the upgrade rudder (200178) discussed in this thread. Has anyone with a rudder like mine installed the upgrade rudder and seen significant handling improvement?

Thanks.

[chrislandy]

Well the saga continues. Shot a couple pics of my rudder port over to Eric at OJ and he didn't think the rudder port was theirs. That means the bushing that is available isn't an option.

I then emailed skidim and they don't offer any rudder port seal kits for 2003. So I'm at a bit of a loss here. Where do I go to get a seal kit for this rudder port? Really don't want to have to swap ports.

It's photos like this that make me glad I've got a direct drive!

[Tsumi]

I'm pretty sure this dinky little thing is what we have on our 2001 X-Star. I think it's about half the size of the 176, let alone the 178. Maybe the people with this rudder are the ones that experience dramatic changes in handling?


Edit: Yep, in 2001 Mastercraft changed to the little wedge thing in 2001. 2000 and older X-Stars (and 205Vs) used the 176 design. It looks like it changed in 2006 back to the 176 design. 2001-2005 X-10s and X-30s seem to be using the same dinky little rudder as well.

[bturner2]

That's the one that was on my boat. The replacement was a noticeably larger rudder with rounded corners.