Rudder cap stuck on rudder, how to remove?

[Capt. Mhack]

Hello,

I'm doing some maintenance on the (new to me) 1977 Islander 26, my first sail boat, coming from power boat arena.

Wanted to drop the rudder to check on the shaft condition.

I took out the bolt the holds the tiller in place, took out the bolt that is a little lower and I assume it holds the metal rudder cap on top of my aft bench to rudder.
I also removed a smaller screw at the front of the cap, it seems to center the shaft or something.

The problem is that the rudder still in place.
It moves up and down 1/2" because of the worn down shaft and surfaces but the cap doesn't disconnect. I even tried pulling on the rudder from bellow.

Do you think it is simply stuck, and needs a little more force, or is there something else that holds it in place?

All bolts have been removed.

Thank you.

[mikenmid]

Check to see if there are any set screws. The cap on my rudder has a 5/16 bolt there for safety but also two 1/4 20 set screws to prevent play.