2006 rudder install...

[bigmac]

It wasn't too bad. Kind of a pain for one person due to a lot of getting into and out of the boat, but the install itself was easy and very straightforward.

I elected to NOT switch to the new tiller arm. They are basically the same, and the lever arm is the same between the two, so there should be no handling difference from the old to the new tiller. Plus, I note that the older tiller has an extra hole about 1/2 inch closer, which would increase steering response (at the expense of steering effort) if I ever chose to use that inner hole.

[bigmac]

[erkoehler]

Looks good, what was the total time of the install?

[bigmac]

Looks good, what was the total time of the install?

Two hours. With another person, I'll bet I could do the next one in less than an hour.

[crdickey]

Did the same thing on my 2003 PS-197 and really like the difference. I use the inner hole and response is quicker and lessens the amount of rotation for equal turning radius. Great for the slalom course! I had to change the rudder housing, the '06 shaft was a few thousands larger than the '03. Also, filed the trailing edge to load the rudder and it tracks like it's on rails!

Bought my set up from Mike at MasterCraft of Charlotte, great guy, very knowledgeable.

[prostar205]

Bigmac -

Do you actually have to remove the prop to do this? I am waiting for a non-rainy day in Seattle to do this update. I'll probably be waiting until June the way it is raining here.

Great job posting the pictures. They will really help out.

[bigmac]

Bigmac -

Do you actually have to remove the prop to do this? I am waiting for a non-rainy day in Seattle to do this update. I'll probably be waiting until June the way it is raining here.

Great job posting the pictures. They will really help out.

No, I just happened to have the prop off already. There would be plenty of clearance with the prop on.

[bigmac]

Did the same thing on my 2003 PS-197 and really like the difference. I use the inner hole and response is quicker and lessens the amount of rotation for equal turning radius. Great for the slalom course!

I was really tempted to switch to the inner hole on the tiller, but I thought I'd try it this way first. If I moved the cable position, I'm not sure how that quicker steering would affect a big boat like the 230VRS. Probably not that big a deal, but making that switch would be pretty easy later on, even while it's on the boat lift.

[vegashomeexpert]

Outstanding job with the report! Let us know what you think of the difference. Also, let me know if the steering wheel turns completely uniformly or if there are any tight spots. If I am all the what to the left, it takes a little more effort to start back to the right than it does anyplace. I want to see if I need to tinker more or if this is normal. Have fun and enjoy!

[bigmac]

Outstanding job with the report! Let us know what you think of the difference. Also, let me know if the steering wheel turns completely uniformly or if there are any tight spots. If I am all the what to the left, it takes a little more effort to start back to the right than it does anyplace. I want to see if I need to tinker more or if this is normal. Have fun and enjoy!

I perceive that one pitfall might be how much clearance you establish between the rudder and bottom of the rudder port, and the top of the rudder port/nylon washer and the pinch bolt on the tiller. If you crank up the rudder real tight against the bottom of the port with the jack, then tap the tiller down tight against the top of the port before tightening the pinch bolt, you could get some binding. I left a few thousandths gap there - so negligible up and down play of the rudder, but just enough to prevent binding. I greased the rudder shaft pretty well with marine grease too. On the trailer, my wheel turns smoothly without any evidence of binding. I don't know how it will act on the water under way, but if it binds, I'd suspect it was due to hydrodynamics of the rudder rather than binding in the rudder port. It's a new rudder and the port has only had about 50 hours of use, so I doubt that binding under way would be due to slop in the port.

If your wheel binds one way vs the other, you might have a lack of grease on the cable end. When I had my wheel cranked all the way to the left, I wiped that cable shaft, which was now fully extended, down thoroughly with grease.

[BuoyChaser]

get my new rudder saturday, YEAH!!!

[BuoyChaser]

my dad got his 197 rudder replaced saturday, only a 15 minute install from the dealer on the 2005 since the gastank has the easy access hole...

[prostar205]

Mine is in. Took me 20 minutes with the help of a buddy.

However, when I dropped the rudder from the tiller arm, there was no nylon washer between the two parts. My dealer took the rudder out during the summer to do glass work around that area. I bet they just forgot to put the washer back in. Guess I'll be calling on Monday.

I can't wait to get it in the water and test it out.

[bigmac]

Mine is in. Took me 20 minutes with the help of a buddy.

However, when I dropped the rudder from the tiller arm, there was no nylon washer between the two parts. My dealer took the rudder out during the summer to do glass work around that area. I bet they just forgot to put the washer back in. Guess I'll be calling on Monday.

I can't wait to get it in the water and test it out.

I suspect that the nylon washer is there to prevent binding between the tiller and top of the rudder port, and also to hold the top O-ring in. It seems like it would be an important piece of the system.

One thing that I didn't mention (because I forgot to check for it) is that there are supposed to be two O-rings that sit at the top and bottom on the rudder port. In my case, both O-rings remained in the port when I dropped the rudder, so I never saw them. The boat only has 50 hours, so I'm not worried about their condition, but they should probably be checked and/or replaced in an older boat.

The other thing I've seen mentioned here is that it can be VERY difficult to pump grease into the rudder port via the zerk located there. Those zerks can be changed out easily enough if one were to think that the zerk itself were plugged, but I took the injection difficulty to mean that the tolerances between port and rudder shaft were very close and that the whole system was well-sealed. After struggling with the injection process for a few minutes, I gave up, but when I looked at the bottom of the rudder port afterward, I saw that some grease had indeed escaped indicating that I had put a little grease in there. A lever-action grease gun is more likely to be successful at this than a hand-squeezing mini-gun, I suspect. I also thoroughly greased the new rudder shaft with marine grease before I slid it in.

[Driv3r]

Wakeseeky and I decided to have our '05 X-30 rudder changed out after moving up from a Prostar 205 and being underwhelmed with the handling. The new style (old-style, really) rudder really did the job, with one caveat: it leaked. Not so much at first, but between November and June, it went from 'I think we have a little more water coming in' to having the bilge pump kicking on at the end of each run, more or less.

bigmac walked me through what to look for, and mentioned that I should put some grease into the mount to seal it up. He was extremely helpful, sending me excellent pics of his install so I could get my bearings, and would know what to look for.

Unfortunately, there was a change from '04 to '05 apparently. Note the differences between his earlier pics, and this image of my mount.