Rudder post/bearing/packing installation

[rick_bradshaw]

Yes, I've begun to think that I am just about certifiable. There is so much going on right now I can't think (found out today the windlass apparently hasn't been serviced for quite a long time and ...) therefore, I'm putting this out to prove it and to see if I can get a reasonable answer.

We replaced the steering cable. Thereafter, the rudder shaft began to leak a bit. There was some water sign before but didn't look like too much. Then the bilge pump went off a couple times within a weekend after motoring for 4 hours round trip to and from the yard when it hadn't gone off twice since we bought the boat in May. Maybe the cable is a bit tight but will stretch. Caused me to look more closely at the rudder post/thru hull connection. What I'm seeing is a hose with clamps and what appers to be a lot of 5200.

Now, I've been out of boating for a good while and am just getting back in and perhaps my memory is not quite what it used to be but this doesn't appear to be quite right. Can someone here refresh my memory and enlighten me on what it should look like?

Thanks in advance. I think I'm going nuts. Will be very happy when we are able to leave and the pressure finally lets up. Those quiet anchorages to decompress are calling.

[mitchk]

Our HC33 #104 has the same style packing gland on the rudder post as the prop shaft. If yours is the same there should be a short piece of hose with hose clamps on each end, on the top side of this hose should be a 2 bolt flange set, this is the packing gland itself, as you tighten the two bolts it tightens the packing, of course this is the same as all standard packing glands however some use 1 big nut which requires a spanner wrench to tighten. I recently replaced the packing in our prop shaft which obviously had not been touched since Pluto was a planet! After I cleaned everything up the job went vary smooth. If you do not see this flange arrangement on the top of your rudder shaft directly under the steering quadrant then you either have a different arrangement or something is funny? If you like I will take a pic of mine and post this weekend?

[mitchk]

Our HC33 #104 has the same style packing gland on the rudder post as the prop shaft. If yours is the same there should be a short piece of hose with hose clamps on each end, on the top side of this hose should be a 2 bolt flange set, this is the packing gland itself, as you tighten the two bolts it tightens the packing, of course this is the same as all standard packing glands however some use 1 big nut which requires a spanner wrench to tighten. I recently replaced the packing in our prop shaft which obviously had not been touched since Pluto was a planet! After I cleaned everything up the job went vary smooth. If you do not see this flange arrangement on the top of your rudder shaft directly under the steering quadrant then you either have a different arrangement or something is funny? If you like I will take a pic of mine and post this weekend?

[warmrain]

[mike]

When we tried to remove our bearing on the 43T we had to resort to cutting it off with a grinder - a long slow job so that the shaft wasn't damaged. To aid removal in the future if & when it happens I drilled & tapped a couple of holes in the base so that bolts can be used to `jack' it off the shaft by placing a thin steel plate under the bearing onto the glassed plate & simply tightening the bolts against the plate.

mike

[warmrain]

Look at the last picture and see how the original bearing is twisted... That allowed me to pass seizing wire around the base plate in such a way as I could fashion a harness and take it to a wheel puller at the top of the shaft. It was a slow process and required some polishing of the shaft with 1000 grit paper.

My last resort was to drill and tap or tap the existing holes...

[mike]

Despite cleaning the shaft well with emery cloth & having mic'd it at 1 1/2" the new imperial bearing was still tight depite liberal amounts of grease when fitted. I checked the metric equivalent & found that it may have been better to go for the metric as it was only a few thou bigger & would have given just that bit of clearance to allow easy fitting & removal at a later date. I guess the few thou wouldn't have made any difference in the support that the bearing gives at the slow speed it rotates.

mike

[mike]

Talking of rudder fittings, at the same time I had the quadrant shot blasted & hard nylon coated - a version of powder coating. This year I've noticed just the slightest amount of play between the quadrant & the shaft despite both halves being bolted firmly together. I'm reluctant to do it as it will destroy the coating but I guess the only remedy will be to have a few thou skimmed of each of the mating faces to give it more clamping pressure the to have it re coated.

Mike

[warmrain]

I think that's you're only choice Mike, but the coating my be contributing to the problem... of course if you take a little off the surface that will correct it.

I aske the yard to powder coat mine 15 years ago and they painted it... damn... Now I have to take it in again and have it done right, it's starting to bubble again...

[edelweiss]

This is a simple drawing of the rudder shaft on the 38 T