Emergency Tiller Problem

[uwyoda]

While messin' about with my 1988 Catalina 30 last week I spotted my emergency tiller in the lazarette and realized I had never removed it from the storage bag (I have owned the boat for 3 years). Having recently experienced the need to use one on my buddy's Island Packet when we lost steering off the coast of Panama, I thought it would be wise for me to at least assemble and attach the tiller to the rudder post so that I could perform that task on my boat quickly should the need ever arise.

When I removed the cover plate to access the rudder post, I discovered that it is impossible to insert the emergency tiller into the rudder tube . The rudder had been replaced by local yard 2 years ago after it was bent when I hit a submerged tree. It appears to me that the rudder tube has been filled with epoxy (I assume that was done by the installer for some unknown reason) all the way up to the top of the tube. The emergency tiller tube has two slots at the end of the tube, and it looks like it is designed to fit inside the rudder tube to engage some type of protrusions that would prevent the tiller from rotating inside the rudder tube.

Picture of the rudder tube is attached (I hope) - I failed to photo the tiller tube. Having found the repair yard to be difficult to work with in the past (I fully expect them to say they only provide 90 day warranty on labor, not their problem), I will most likely have to fix it myself. I assume I will need to somehow grind out the epoxy in some manner to enable insertion of the emergency tiller, and I would appreciate suggestions on how to best go about that without damaging the rudder tube (post?).

[kaluvic]

Looks more like polyurethane foam??

Whats the inside dia.?
Is this like 1 1/4..

How deep do you need to go.

A good sharp wood chisel would get a lot out...the remainder could be cleaned up with a dremel or drill with a wire brush attachment.

I don’t know how "handy" you are but you may also try a large dia. paddle type drill bit.

[uwyoda]

Kaluvic,
Thanks for the response. I would guess inside diameter of the rudder tube is about 2.5 inches. Didn't occur to me that it might be foam instead of epoxy since I didn't attempt to remove any of the material - foam would certainly make removal a much easier job. Since I never attached emergency tiller to the original rudder, I don't know how deep an attachment point might be, but the slots on the tiller tube are about 3-4 inches deep.
Good thought on the chisel.

[jjablonowski]

Play Dentist.
Drill out the bad filling with a Dremel or a Zip cutter.

[uwyoda]

jj,
Pardon my ignorance, but what's a "Zip cutter"?