Does anyone have experience of removing the rudder post fitting; any tips on how to go about it?

Mine - as far as I've noticed before - seem to have developed a lot of side to side 'slop'. Not rotational/steering slop - I know that happens anyway with the iffy screwpost fittings on the control rod - but plain side-to-side/non-vertical: a light finger pressure to and fro on the bottom edge, perpendicular to centre line, moves it about 3mm. Seems to be only about 1mm fore-and-aft.

I'm wondering if I've done some damage to the plastic piece(s) such that the metal sleeve is now loose. (I did plonk the boat down yesterday with the fin landing on top of my toolbox....)

 

Colin, I bought a DF95 when they first appeared. The rudder was very wobbly; just as yours. I contacted RC yachts and they were aware that this was an issue and that it was being resolved. They posted a replacement tube which made the rudder as it should be.  I sold the boat some time ago and cannot remember the details of fitting, but it was a simple job and only took minutes. Anyway: RC yachts have the solution - very helpful too.

10 minutes ago, Richard98 said:

Colin, I bought a DF95 when they first appeared. The rudder was very wobbly; just as yours. I contacted RC yachts and they were aware that this was an issue and that it was being resolved. They posted a replacement tube which made the rudder as it should be.  I sold the boat some time ago and cannot remember the details of fitting, but it was a simple job and only took minutes. Anyway: RC yachts have the solution - very helpful too.

Thanks for the info. I've contacted rcyachts for ideas, waiting to hear back.

I saw https://www.radiosailing.co.uk/df95-rudder-post-fitting---new-1946-p.asp  and figured that the metal sleeve would be the bearing surface, held in place inside the plastic pieces. But just had a poke with a fine screwdriver and it feels like the tube is larger diameter than the holes in the plastics, I.e. the plastics are the bearing surfaces. Bought mine new just over a year ago, so I'm still a bit puzzled at the mo'...

Chuck from DSNA has a YT video on this exact process.

 

Thanks. (That makes it look almost easy.... 🫣)

4 minutes ago, Colin Helliwell said:

Thanks. (That makes it look almost easy.... 🫣)

But it's not so be careful

3 hours ago, womble66 said:

But it's not so be careful

Care and maybe some clever gadgetry needed to get it detached.

Baffles me why it even needs to be glued in that much - a dab of sealant maybe, but cyano all over seems un-necessary!

I tried this on a DF65.  The rudder tube end fittings on both ends just disintegrated preventing the removal, and requiring a replacement hull...

3 minutes ago, Guzzilazz said:

I tried this on a DF65.  The rudder tube end fittings on both ends just disintegrated preventing the removal, and requiring a replacement hull...

Yikes. Was it the black insert pieces which disintegrated, not the hull itself? Any pointers you can give on "if you try this then it's  best to xyz"? Thanks

It was the rudder tube parts but it would have involved hull destruction to get them out... 

This repair is now sorted, so here's my experiences in case it helps others.
First off, it looks like the chap in the video was replacing an older version which doesn't have the metal tube linking the two inserts. This makes it even harder than it looks.....

I got the un-bonder, and first tried a drop (somewhere out of sight) to check how much it would attack it. Instantly it loses its gloss. On the outer surfaces it's much worse - I suspect the hull has some sort of lacquer coating, which immediately blisters and dissolves.

My approach was to put a 4mm screw into the top insert, with a view to pulling straight more than levering.
The insert itself gets well and truly 'melted' by the un-bonder. Be careful about over-spill onto the deck. And be equally careful and precise when wiping up excess - the softening of the insert makes it easy to get black smears on the deck 😬

Even with the screw, I got no traction or movement. I tried gently levering around the edges and the upshot was, as for Larry, that the part disintegrated. 

Leaving me with just the barrel left, which is also glued in around the outside in some spots. More un-bonder; poking at it with a pin (nothing thicker fits down the gap). In fact the insert dissolved more than the cyano so I managed to gouge enough away that I could then lever the rest out with the screw, hoping I wouldn't strain/damage the other insert (via the tube).

Some gentle scraping/sanding to clean up the hull tubeway to allow the new insert in fully. New insert fitted using sealant not superglue!

Overall, the problem is solved. But not at all easily 🙄

 

Edited April 23, 20241 yr by Colin Helliwell

Another thought I'd had before I started - which might make some of the above easier - was to drill out the top hole to separate the 'plate' from the cylindrical body. So I took some measurements of the insert & tube, for assessing hole size/depth and how much room there is to work with without damage. Obviously there's a risk of going so wide/deep as to go into the hull itself - it's hard to measure the curve of the hull aperture. (Carefully with a 9mm bit?)

I dunno if it would help the process, but here's the measurements anyway while I'm at it. (Not shown, but be aware that the plate slopes slightly w.r.t. the body).

DF95_TopRudder.pdf

Some people have put a plastic drinking straw which I thinks takes up the play in the rudder assembly. Saves the potential of damage to hull removing the old rudder fittings. 🫢