Plate above rudder

[prowlersfish]

That will be much better then the way it was , sombody way back when got it wrong.

[jon_e_quest]

thers not a plate on inside but i am taking all of it out and putting stuffing box to inside and plate to outside

Yes, the 'mounting plate' (flange is the correct term) portion of a rudder port mounts on the inside of the hull, with the 4" long barrel extending down thru to the outside of the hull. The barrel section of the port is important as it supports the rudder post. Your rudder port is missing this barrel portion, but it definitely used to have one.

Normally, the rudder port would then get a backing plate mounted to the outside of the hull. It mirrors the shape and size of the square flange part of the rudder port and is basically a big square bronze washer. Trojan substituted the backing plate of all Model 253 F-25's with the large plate you possess for the reasons discussed earlier.

When ordering a new rudder port, be sure to order the same size as the original. i.e. shaft and flange size must be the same to fit your rudder post and bolt pattern.

Good Luck! And let us know how you fare.