Rudder Stops on Release May 2008

May 11, 2008

To All,

Hi again, we are looking for information on steering stops on our 1983 I 36, Release. The wheel did not seem to turn the rudder around far enough, and upon a search we found some heavy stops bolted to the bottom of the cockpit. They look as though they may be an after market add on.

We removed one to see how far the wheel would turn. It was a vast improvement.

After a couple of beers and a lot of talking we decided to drill new holes and move the stops about 3 inches. My question is, are thes stops common and should we have left them in the first position? Has anyone had the same problem?

Thanks,
Ken, Francie and Skipper Bushee
kenandfrancie1@vermontel.net
Release

PS She gets Launched May 12 after 4 weeks of parts, labor and love has gone into her. We will send pictures of the completed projects later.

Reply on May 11:

Ken and Francie,

We also have a 1983 and we have what sounds like the same steering stops. I would estimate that we get about 50 degrees of rudder angle in each direction. My guess is that these are original rather than an aftermarket add-on. I would worry about too much rudder angle while backing if the stops are moved. By the way, thanks for posting all the pictures. It’s been really interesting.

John Mangan
S/V Turning Point
Corpus Christi, TX

Reply on May 11:

Diana, our 1971, now has after market stops to prevent rudder damage by the skeg at full over. We have had spade rudder boats that can turn a boat into a berth that is almost abeam; but they also cavitate and have more tracking issues than the I36.

This last Vallejo Race provided close spinny reaching in 25kts; the rudder was on the stops at times but the "sheet release" call was never heard. The skeg kept the boat on track at 8.5kts while we sailed through other fleets that where rounding-up. Sooooo we adjust the stops for max rudder angle without skeg contact.

Lou Zevanov
Diana

Reply on May 12:

I have a 1983 I-36 with the previously described modified rudder stops. My modification process and results were relatively simple and cheap. Prior to fabricating metal pieces for the new rudder stops I walked through our marina during the winter months when all the boats were up on jack stands and made a template of the maximum rudder angles on nine boats in the 36 to 38 foot size range.

The template was fabricated by simply using a piece of poster paper. I aligned one edge of the paper to the boat’s centerline, with the forward corner of the paper at the trailing edge of the rudderpost. I next then shoved the rudder over to the stop, and made a reference mark on the paper at the trailing edge of the center of the rudder. There was a substantial range of maximum rudder angles, with the I-36 having the least amount of full rudder throw.

Let me just mention that the rudder stops my boat are somewhat unique to the Islander fleet. They are rather basic, just a piece of 3/8 in steel, approximately 7 inch long and about 2-in wide. This steel piece has a 90-degree bend in the middle of its length (The bent corner is gusseted to add strength to the bend). This piece of angled steel is bolted to the cockpit floor, directly under the helmsman’s feet, with the angled portion pointing down and out toward the aft corners of the boat. At this angle the down drop portion is positioned so that a metal tab protruding from the steering quadrant hits the steel stop. Hope that wasn’t too confusing.

Anyway, I removed my rudder stops, pushed my rudder over to match the maximum angle found on the measured boats, and used a thin piece of sheet metal with a 90 degree bead to mark a model for the replacement stops. I took the old stops, and my new template to a welder, and for $15 had new, longer stops fabricated.

My boat now turns on a dime. With maximum rudder throw, and moving at a typical reverse boat speed, I can still easily turn the wheel to return the rudder to center position. Also, this max rudder angle in reverse allows me to just about maneuver the boat as if it had a stern thruster. By turning hard to starboard and going back and forth between forward and reverse I can spin the boat with only about 3 feet of forward or aft movement.

I will be glad to take some rudder stop picture if anyone out there has need. I have had my boat for 19 years and still love her. If you check the Wikipedia site you can get a look at my boat, and maybe you could add some new text to the Wiki posting. Have a great summer with fair winds….

Joe Thon, thethons@cox.net
VITTORIA, I36 # 647
Westerly Yacht Club, Westerly RI

May 13, 2008

Here are a few pictures of the difference in the degree of rudder before and after we moved the Quadrant stops. Before we had a little over 30 degrees and after close to 50 degrees.

The stops were as someone mentioned 3/8 X 2" angle iron with a steel strap welded diagonal on them. The moving of the bolts makes Release turn a lot shorter. On one picture you can see the two sets of bolts, the inner ones being the original and the outer what we changed too. Hope this info helps someone.

The last picture is after she was launched yesterday. We still have a few projects, autopilot, rebuild manual bilge pump, wind direction and speed to install, but she is on the water and we are going sailing.

Ken, Francie and Skipper Bushee
kenandfrancie1@vermontel.net
Release

Original max - 1	Original max - 2	New max - 1	New max - 2
Cockpit view	Release looks good!

Zenith 1

Zenith 2

Release Brackets 1

Release Brackets 2

Release Brackets 3

Release Brackets 4

Diana # 1

Diana # 2

Diana # 3

Diana # 4