11a rudder and rudder port

Im in need of a 11a rudder and port box. I purchased a 1980 18ft sn and the rudder is super hard to turn by hand, disassembled and is majorly bent. If you ha e one please pm me.

The actual rudder part itself is bent a good bit as well, the shaft is bent backwards so when not inserted fully its fine, but as soon as i push it all the way in it has to be man handled to move at all. And there is visible wear on the shaft where it has been rubbing the interior of the rudder port. I havent even gotten to take the boat out yet, this was all done by previous owner. Im just trying to get it safe before i take it out. Just had the stringers and floors redone. Boat only has 85 hrs, but sat uncovered under a leaking barn. Im guessing it was put there after the rudder incident happend. The motor was replaced at 75 hours by previous owner who didnt winterize and cracked the block due to freezing. So the motor only has a handful of hours....only reason i couldnt pass up the deal. If anybody could help me put id appreciate it.

I will have to post pics later, but the wear is visible gouges, like deep scratches, not like it had been worn over time, but like they hit something and had to muscle it back to the dock causing some big gouges. I couldnt even turn the rudder using the steering wheel, i thought because of it sitting so long that the steering cable had gone bad, but after disconnecting the rudder, the steering wheel turns fine. I the went to remove the rudder and after removing all hardware and couplers, i figured it would just fall off.... that wasnt the case, i had to work it back and forth with a ton of lube to get it out of the rudder port. Thats when i noticed the shaft was bent.

clint351mx wrote:

Did the previous owner tell you what brand of marinization that engine is?

The engine sure looks like it is an Indmar marinized 351w going by the raw water pump being crankshaft mounted and the shape/design of the thermostat housing, alternator location and a few other small details.

The exhaust manifolds look like they are from Barr Marine

All this will lead to somebody asking that big Correct Craft question of "which way does it rotate?"

If you don't know, look at the distributor cap and working your way around it Counter Clockwise you should have either 1 3 7 2 6 5 4 8 if it's normal automotive rotation or if it's reverse rotation it will be 1 8 4 5 6 2 7 3. Make sure you go counter clockwise.

Only reason I mention this is because it's looking pretty obvious that it's a newer replacement engine and manifolds and it'll be good for you to know what you have there.

I wondered that too and saw the Reverse Rotation decal on the valve cover

Good to know, the guy i got it from said he paid a pretty penny for it.

3 wraps of 3/16" will get the job done but I like having extra around.

5' for $28 at McMaster
9466K5