Rudder maintenance, but how?

[tiku]

Hi!


First boat with rudders, hence the question.. I'm thinking that propably they need some service too but I can't seem to find any place to squirt in grease etc..

Anyone have any suggestions?

My rudders can be seen in the pics below.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. tiku. That is unlike any system I have ever seen but IF the, what appears to be, a stuffing box is above the water line, possibly no service is required. The most common stuffing box I am familiar with is below the water line, is not greased and relies on some form of compressed (by the gland nut) fibrous material to effect a seal, lubricated by water slowly seeping past said material for lubrication. Yours is an interesting and sensible design.

 

[tiku]

Thank you for the comments.

Indeed the "stuffingbox" is above the waterline since the exhaust hose - through hull is about a foot above waterline. After that it's beeing fed to to the exhaust boot that again dives below the water.

I see that everywhere I look there are so many things done right with this boat from the start... Me likes, one less thing to service...

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. tiku. You're very welcome. Remember, I said it possibly does not require service at this time. It could be it only requires service at infrequent intervals. I would find it VERY surprising if it needed no service....You would best to solicit other, more informed, information. If you're really looking for things to service on a boat, I just happen to have a list...and I could stop off at Alko in anticipation of your arrival. Schnapps maybe?

 

[tiku]

Kippis to that!

Thank you for the concern about servicing the rudder.

In no way am I thinking that anything in a boat is service-free. Before kids I was a volunteer in the local SAR - organisation and while on patrols saw my fair share of "idiots afloat" and sadly those floating wrecks they dared to call boats or yachts even...

Would be glad to have a model for a servicelist, in fact I have been working on those departure and arrival checklists we had in SAR - boats. Eventhough you know what needs to checked, going at it with an organized list makes you look twice and makes sure that all boxes are ticked, each and every time..

 

[Nomad Willy]

If it's not binding and not loose and not leaking I'd say you're probably OK at the time. You may want to see that it's not leaking underway too.

 

[tiku]

Thanks..

I have checked them at the dock and underway. So far it has been nice and dry in there.

 

[Chuck Gould]

Interesting photo. Just looking at the picture, the diameter of what would appear to be a stainless rudder post seems smaller than the diameter of (what could be) a tube between the hull and the molded horizontal support. I am interpreting this correctly? Is the rudder post turning inside a sealed tube?

 

[tiku]

It certainly seems so. I'm wondering if the piece of nylon is taking care of teh lubrication need and acting as a somesort of gasket..

I can try to get better pics during the weekend, while scraping the bottom..

 

[Shoalwaters]

I suspect that the nylon washer is combined with a nylon bushing. The washer takes the weight of the rudder assembly and the bushing acts as a bearing inside the brass tube. Wish my lazarette stayed as clean as that!

 

[Brooksie]

Rudder shaft inside bronze tube which rises above waterline and lined with nylon bushings... seems perfect and maintenance free to me.
I would still check to make sure shaft is snug in bushings, no crevice corrosion going on at stainless shaft inside tube, that setscrews are good (tight, locked, & in proper dimples in the shaft, finally that bracket is still secure to transom.
The rudder is kept from dropping by the piece of a tiller arm (arm cut off) with the stainless pin sticking out. Is it working it's way out? Can't see other side to tell. If so a bolt with locknut be better using a longer bolt so no threads inside.

 

[tiku]

Good point, I'll check the pin and its position...

 

[tiku]

New pics, hope they will shed some light.

The pin is not going anywhere, it is quite firmly planted. This made me think that is there an old control arm or level that has been cut off and a new system installed on top of it? It looks that way.

The funny part is that the boat was sold without autopilot but it has all the stuff needed in place. Once weather gets nicer I need to look into the matter and see if it is just a question of cut off wires or something more difficult.

 

[JAT]

It is very possible that you have some stuffing or packing in the tube to prevent water from coming up while in motion of the boat is rocking. The only way you will ever find out...is when the boat is on the hard....and you release the fasteners holding the rudders in place..... (VERY CAREFULLY with a jack and dunnage under them.....)

I'm not familiar with a setup like that...first I've seen...but then when it comes to older boats...you just never know what you will find.... Given the boats age, it might be advisable to drop the rudders and check the shafts....for crevice corrosion...and see if they need to be coated with grease....and you may also find a gland area where there is packing...

Not trying to make work for you... I just did both of mine this past summer... one was leaking at the top of the tube....and while I had been told that there would be grease zerks...there were none....