Rudder problems

The way that the rudder is hung is fairly elegant. There are pairs of brackets at the top and bottom. These set on matching pairs on the transom. A long brass rod goes through these, holding them together. The tiller goes over the top of the rod and keeps it in place.

The problem is that there is enough play that if the transom hits the bottom then the bottom of the rudder can be lifted up enough to come off of the bottom transom bracket leaving it hanging from the top transom bracket. This puts a lot of strain on the bracket and makes the rudder ineffective.

This happened a couple of times. One was on Lake Monroe. We were launching into a strong wind from a shallow beach. The other time was going to the boat ramp on the Scioto. The river is very shallow there with a deeper channel. We lost the channel, ran aground, and the rudder came loose.

The best solution would be to find a new bronze or brass bracket and mount it on the transom above the bracket on the rudder. This would hold it in place. The alternative would be to make a bracket from sheet brass.

Just one more oversight that makes me wonder how a boat could be around for nearly thirty years and not have this solved. Was it always used in deep water?

Update: After examining the boat I realized that it was built wrong from the beginning. The upper bracket should have been on top, holding the rudder in place.

I thought of an alternative to adding a bracket. If I cut a tube the length of the distance between the brackets and run the holding pin through it, the rod will keep the rudder in place. I think that some off-the-shelf copper tubing will do it.

UPDATE: That's what I did. I had some extra copper pipe sitting around so I cut it to length. This seems like a good solution. The pipe stops the rudder from moving and copper resists water fairly well.