L28 Rudder Solutions

I'd like to make a few comments regarding rudder play. The rudder bushings are made from UHMW (ultra high molecular weight plastic). They don't really wear out so you should never have to replace them.

For the lower bushing, if you notice some undesirable side to side play just put a hose clamp around the fiberglass tube inside the boat. This will allow you to adjust the tension upon the rudder shaft by exerting pressure on the outside of the bushing. It's a quick simple fix and works perfectly every time.

The upper bushing is a little more complicated. It must be removed and reinstalled with shim stock wrapped around it's OD or some of us have used masking tape. The idea is to increase the OD (outside diameter) so when reinstalled into the aluminum casting the ID will become a little smaller. Be careful because when reinstalling into the deck casting it could be too tight. Start with small amounts and work up. It doesn't take much.

Rudder shaft vertical end play is set so that the rudder spade is as close to the hull as possible. At the factory we installed a UHMW washer on the rudder shaft before we installed the rudder into the hull. This made for a small gap between the rudder and the hull when fully installed. Once the rudder was in place we added more of these washers on top of the rudder shaft so they rested upon the deck casting.

Finally when the tiller casting was installed with the bolt going thru the rudder shaft, vertical end play was able to be determined by the number of washers necessary. Too many washers and the rudder is stiff, and with not enough washers there is too much end play. These washers can be made by your local machine shop.

One area of concern is the rudder/tiller casting. This is the top cap casting that bolts thru the rudder shaft. As these boats age I've noticed these castings tend to rock a little on the shaft. Causing a bit of a wobble. Over torquing the bolt usually doesn't help the situation. This repair needs to be done with the boat out of the water. To remedy this I remove this casting and put a very small fillet of epoxy putty in the casting where the top of the shaft contacts the inside. I wax the shaft first so that it will be removable again in the future. Reinstall the casting and torque the bolt and let it sit for 24 hrs before relaunching.I have done all these adjustments/repairs to my own boat and find the rudder works just right. Hope this helps,

The rest of this thread can be found here

Followup to Andre's question:

I just bought my boat this fall and it too has a very stiff rudder bearing.  Almost too stiff to steer with a tiller extension, you have to pull so hard on the tiller.  I don't know if it's always been like this or if it is a result of the boat sitting in the water for the last few years unsailed or something else.

I had the boat hauled and surveyed before I bought it and it all looked ok-- just stiff-- but I didn't disassemble it as there were higher-priority projects and I didn't realize quite how stiff it was until I started sailing it a lot.  There was a small ding in the bottom of the rudder like you get from bottoming out that I filled with epoxy, but the moisture meter read dry around it.

The boat is not dry-sailed, is there anything I can check while the boat is in the water?  I can handle the steering loads until the next haulout if it's just needing readjustment but I want to be sure that the rudder isn't about to break off or anything. 

Thanks,

Mike

Thanks for the reassurance Bill.  I'll take my rudder off and clean it next time I haul out or can borrow someone's trailer.

-Mike