Recently i have been reading accounts of other Hunter owners losing their rudders. We have a 95' 430 Legend. Has anybody else who owns one ever had any problems with your rudder. ?
Hunter owners talking about losing their rudder.
- Thread starter bortiz
- Start date
Where do they separate? I have mine off right now to remove the propshaft. The only thing I plan to do different is put a new locknut on the bolt that pins it to the quadrant. I could see that bolt maybe working it's way out and dropping the rudder
I infer from reading some second-hand stories the problem isn't the rubber but rather the composite rudder shaft Hunter put on the 420 series models.
I read in another forum that they are breaking off right at the hull. I only skimmed the article but seemed to remember they were replacing the shaft with stainless steel.
Mine is SS and basically sealed from corrosion [ours hit the water 4/22/1999].
I have a AgCl corrosion reference probe. I checked the rudder shaft for corrosion.
It is NOT electrically connected to the water.
That leaves only the Mechanical connection to the boat, which I inspect annually.
I had mine visually inspected after we were caught in a Squall in shallow waters. The boat was raised up on a 6 foot wave and slammed down on a sandy bottom. No damage
Jim...
I have a AgCl corrosion reference probe. I checked the rudder shaft for corrosion.
It is NOT electrically connected to the water.
That leaves only the Mechanical connection to the boat, which I inspect annually.
I had mine visually inspected after we were caught in a Squall in shallow waters. The boat was raised up on a 6 foot wave and slammed down on a sandy bottom. No damage
Jim...
Hi BOrtiz--I have a 1991 Passage 42, and I suspect that our hulls and rudders are very similar if not identical. About five years ago I had to replace my lower rudder bearing due to ordinary wear (after about 50,000 miles), and I had a marine engineer do a cold-test (with dye) on our stainless steel rudder shaft while it was out. Despite a couple of groundings on the leading bottom corner of the rudder over the years, it was just fine. I wouldn't be surprised if yours was in the same condition.
My rudder is solid SS and have seen a few Hunter rudders
were SS but hollow not solid,is that the case with above posted
with SS rudders.
Nick
were SS but hollow not solid,is that the case with above posted
with SS rudders.
Nick
Yes, Nick---mine is a 4 inch wide rudder post, and it is hollow. I can't remember the thickness offhand.
My 1996 H376 rudder has a composite 6" at base and 4" at quadrant. It is hollow but with walls about 1/2" thick. Hunter said it was designed to withstand 10,000 lbs but also to break off in a collision instead of bending a SS shaft. Theory goes, bent shaft with the rudder stuck in the wrong position is worse than a missing rudder. I figure my rudder has about 40k miles on it and still in great shape.
Hi Bortiz,
I have a 1991 Legend 43 and the rudder tube seems to have free itself from the lazarette. Which means a lot or re-coring and fiber glass work. I imagine the steering systems between the 43 and the 430 may be very similar (aside from the fact that my shaft is SS) and I am chasing a diagram of the entire steering section before I take her out. You wouldn’t by chance have one floating around ? I just wanted to know what all the components are and where the bearing are located.
Regards
Luigi Anselmi
Rivedel II
I have a 1991 Legend 43 and the rudder tube seems to have free itself from the lazarette. Which means a lot or re-coring and fiber glass work. I imagine the steering systems between the 43 and the 430 may be very similar (aside from the fact that my shaft is SS) and I am chasing a diagram of the entire steering section before I take her out. You wouldn’t by chance have one floating around ? I just wanted to know what all the components are and where the bearing are located.
Regards
Luigi Anselmi
Rivedel II