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Rudder bearing
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Planning to haul Sleekit out this weekend and thinking about preventive maintenance while i have it in the lift overnight - has anyone installed a rudder post bearing and was it useful? I have a looseness and clunk sound when i tack and it gets stiff when there is a lot of wind. Also, where does the bearing go? Between the shoe and the rudder, at the base of the post above the rudder blade, or at the top of the post? Thanks,?
David Savitzky "Sleekit" Rhode Island |
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We used a chunk of UHMW plastic, I think from Ebay. It¡¯s thru-bolted to the deck. As I recall, the rudder was out of the boat, so we used a long dowel, the same diameter as the rudder shaft, and wrapped it with tape to center it in the tube, and slid it down the tube a distance, so we now had what was essentially a longer rudder shaft sticking out the top of the tube by at least several inches. We then drilled a hole the same diameter as the rudder shaft in the chunk of UHMW, and slid it over the extended ¡®shaft.¡¯ Of course, because the tube emerges from the deck at an angle and not ¡®normal¡¯ to the deck, i.e. not at right angles, that meant the bottom of the UHMW chunk didn¡¯t lay flat. But because it was plainly visible it was then no big deal to grind the bottom of the UHMW until it lay flat on the deck, while still remaining aligned on the extended ¡®shaft.¡¯
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I think the actual tube itself stuck up maybe 1/8¡± or so above the deck, but we had already ground it flush to the deck. That way we didn¡¯t have to make allowances for its diameter or make the hole in the UHMW complicated. Now that the bottom of the UHMW was indeed flush to the deck AND had the hole drilled at the correct angle, we now had a reference surface to work from: if the bottom of the UHMW was flush to the deck, then that same flat surface could just sit flat on the drill press table so we could vertical drill holes for the mounting bolts; and those holes for the mounting bolts would be square to the deck, even if they weren¡¯t square to the top of the chunk of UHMW. Then shape the UHMW to whatever shape/contours you want. Finally, the holes in the deck were drilled per the standard protocol: Overdrill, then fill with thickened epoxy. Place the UHMW bearing on the fake shaft, slide it down so it¡¯s flush to the deck and sits exactly as you¡¯d like, and now you¡¯ve got a guide for drill holes, in the form of the holes already drilled in the UHMW. Use them as guides to drill thru the deck, thru-bolt, and as my Canadian friend says, Bob¡¯s your uncle and it¡¯s all tickety-boo. Warren Stein On Nov 3, 2020, at 2:11 AM, dcsavitzky <dcsavitzky@...> wrote: |
¿ªÔÆÌåÓý?Re-reading your post, I realize I didn¡¯t do much of a job of addressing your actual questions. ? I think I fell into the ¡°I asked him what time it was, and he told me how to build a watch¡± syndrome. ? Apologies. ?Anyway, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve gleaned that what I was talking about was a bearing at the top of the rudderpost. ? The one I described does an excellent job of keeping the rudder post centered in the tube and eliminating any slop or thump. ?I think that¡¯s what most folks use, and it¡¯s probably the most effective form of rudder bearing, but that doesn¡¯t mean you couldn¡¯t also put bearings elsewhere. ? But your questions went to, what can you do while in the slings?? Since you¡¯ll be in the slings, that¡¯s by far the best opportunity to drop the rudder; because otherwise you¡¯d need to dig a hole in order to get the clearance to drop it. ?AMHIK, as they say. ? You asked about a bearing at the base of the post above the rudder blade. ?I think that would make very little difference to anything, and I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s worth it, but if you wanted one you¡¯d probably have to drop the rudder fully out to install it. ? Given that that means that the top of the rudder post has to drop below the bottom of the rudder post tube, it¡¯s very possible that the Travelift won¡¯t go that high, so that¡¯s a consideration. ?? ?? A bearing between the bottom of the rudder blade and the rudder shoe is good, since that¡¯s where all the load is, at least based on weight. ?We did one out of UHMW, making a thick washer out of that stuff. ?Now, the thicker that washer is, the less rudder post stub there remains to go into the shoe, so there are limits or at least tradeoffs. ?But while you¡¯re in the slings would be a good time to install one, bearing in mind (pardon the pun) that once you remove the shoe, the whole rudder, post and all, is free to drop out; be very careful not to risk bending the shaft. ? You should probably consider, what if some PO had put the shoe back on with, say, 5200? ? That¡¯d be a beast. ?OTOH, removing and inspecting the shoe is probably a very good thing to do, considering that if the shoe let go, I doubt that the clamping action of the tiller head would be enough to keep you from losing the rudder altogether. ?And I will relate that I have a nice heavy bronze casting rudder shoe in my collection, complete with a crack all the way thru it...not good. SO back to the beginning: ?the most important rudder bearing is at the top, as I previously described; but you don¡¯t have to be in the slings to do that one. ? IF you decide to do a lower bearing, it¡¯d be that washer between the bottom of the rudder blade and the shoe, and that¡¯s the one to do while in the slings. ? Hope this helps. ? On Nov 3, 2020, at 2:50 AM, Warren Stein via groups.io <wrsteinesq@...> wrote:
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