Ok, so I have twisted all the bronze bolts off and removed the rudder and know that Bud will send me replacements nuts and bolts. I also noticed that the bronze pintles were significantly worn and think I should replace them. I also found the bottom edge of my rudder was split down the middle, though I'm pretty clear on the fix for that problem. Grind it down, one layer of fiberglass, epoxy resin, epoxy sealer, then paint. The split appears to be caused not as the result of water intrusion and subsequent freezing, but the result of traumatic contact with something hard on the bottom.
Maybe I should have posted this in the ask bud section?
I'm thinking I will order a length of silicon bronze rod and take a fellow westsail owner up on his offer to fabricate them for me in his garage. Bud, do you also have a source for the round bronze or would it be cheaper for me to find a local source. I'd prefer to give you my business but shipping might be costly.
Also, the plastic spacers/washers on top and bottom: can I just use any old washer from home depot or are they made from a special material (teflon?) (nylon?)
I know the standard fix for the wobblys is to poor epoxy into the hole and wag the rudder before the epoxy dries. My concern is that I have about 1/8 inch of play and so I'm afraid the epoxy would only be a temporary fix. How long does the epoxy fix last? (I don't wanna do this twice) Would it be practical/advisable to epoxy a fiberglass sleeve inside of the original sleeve? Or maybe just purchase a size larger rod for the pintle?
I know that's a lot of questions but any help would be useful and appreciated.
Thanks, Eric
UPDATE: I just went down and scraped the paint off the pintles in order to pull them out and saw that they have epoxy on them! That means the epoxy fix has been done before.
I'm leaning now towards replacing the slightly worn (delfin?) tube inside the gudgeon (if I can get it out) with a new tube and new pintles. That should be a solid fix for sure.