Hi,
replacing the gudgeons and pintles is not easy, but can be done. For the ones made out of steel, the trick is to match up the correct steel alloys, otherwise you end up with King Neptune gnawing away on them (think electrolytical corrosion). I do not remember the pintle design on the early W32, but I do remember the problems they caused because the screws corroded.
I am replacing the fiberglass center gudgeon on my W32. It is more than I wanted to bite off, as the misalignment of that was more than I felt comfortable with. The issue is fitting the gudgeon or pintle to the other mating part, especially the mounting holes. I got the mounting holes right, but have to trim the still oversized gudgeon and make the ends square to the pintle shafting with enough space for the Delryn washers, the idea being in the rotational plane of the rudder, otherwise you'll have friction when turning the rudder. In my case, I discovered that the offset was flexing the rudder, and when in freezing temperatures, may cause cracks in the rudder blade.
Westsail has done otherwise a good job with the fiberglass gudgeons, and I do not see why someone with a will and determination cannot produce a solid fiberglass pintle themselves.
One other approach is to take welding and machine shop classes at a local college. The teachers are not always cooperative, but at the same time you may learn some skill that helps to make your own parts right there in class. Tell them that you need this for your artistic expression!
I will answer questions dealing with my own experience in these matters if you e-mail me.
Mike Z
