How fix rudder play from oblong hole in rudder tube?

[kjdoyle1]

Ok, so after pulling the rudder I am not seeing any cracks in the shaft (see attachments). However there is flaking of whatever material was around the top part of the shaft. Maybe the loss of that material was why there wasn't enough clamping pressure? Can I wrap with a thin layer of fiberglass?

 

[JamesG161]

Looks like someone Gelcoated your Fiberglass rudder shaft.
Are you buying a new Quadrant?

 

[Daveinet]

SO I might be inclined to put a sleeve on the inside of the tube for reinforcement. If the clamp is squeezing the fiberglass, the fiberglass can collapse and absorb the clamping force. In short order, it will come loose again. If you can support the inside of the fiberglass with a brass sleeve, this will not allow the fiberglass to flex inward and loosen up. This will pinch the fiberglass between the outside clamp and the inside sleeve.
You might be able to find a copper tube the right side or a galvanized pipe with the right size outside diameter to fit inside the fiberglass tube.

 

[JamesG161]

Suggested repair...
1) clean up the Flaking gel coat , which is not needed on the upper part of the shaft.
2) Fix the Fiberglass[FRP] and close the hole where the bolt passed through With FRP[ you can make it extra thick]
3) Insert the Rudder back into the Quadrant
4) Align your rudder midships and re-Drill for your new Quadrant bolt
5) Done

Jim...

PS the Stainless steel sleeve is the rudder side upper bearing
PSS: Leave room inside the rudder for your Emergency tiller

 

[JamesG161]

The outside diameter of the shaft must remain the same to match in ID of the Quadrant.
This means the FRP repair must be done from the inside of the rudder shaft

Jim...

 

[jssailem]

KJ. It may be worth the time to call SBO and ask for some 1on1 Hunter consulting time.

 

[kjdoyle1]

@smokey73 and @JamesG161 sounds like you have similar rudder systems so I wanted to pick your brains. As happens on many projects this one is more complicated than originally thought.

As an update, I epoxied the old bolt holes in the fiberglass shaft so that I could redrill new. I then put a pice of galvanized inside the shaft (1.5" x 3" nipple) and filled the gap between the outside of the galvanized and inside of the shaft with epoxy (see pic). The thinking here was just to shore up the structural integrity of the top of the shaft so that it can be clamped tight by the radial drive. I then put the stainless steel sleeve back on the outside of the shaft and redrilled the holes for the stainless steel through bolt.

HOWEVER, when we went to put the rudder back in, it wouldn't pass through the UHMW bearing that was sitting inside the hull at the deckline. I think what happened was that when we were putting the SS sleeve back on the shaft, it required some hammering to get it on the shaft. I figured this was a good thing because I want that sleeve to be tight on the shaft to avoid the slipping I had before. However, I think this banging knocked the SS sleeve every so slightly out of round‍.

Then, in trying to get the rudder in, it knocked out the UHMW bearing along with the radial drive which was clamped partially onto this bearing. What we found was that the radial drive was somewhat clamped around the UHMW bearing and the top of the bearing was notched by the wear of the radial drive cables. According to the drawing, it doesn't seem like that should be the case. It seems like the UHMW bearing should be below the radial drive with the radial drive being just clamped to the SS sleeve and shaft. Then, because of those notches made by the cables the top 1"-1.5" of the bearing cracked off. So we then just cut the cracked top off the bearing, thinking that we might be ok with a slightly shorter bearing.

OK, so now the shaft is in, and so is the UHMW, but without that extra 1"-1.5" UHMW the radial drive is sitting on top of the deck and there is too much friction as it turns.

Here's my question... can I just add a 1.5" high UHMW "sleeve bearing" on top of what you see in the pic? Is this what the drawing means when it says "cut line for 29.5 only...use both pieces"? Again we are a Hunter 1994 29.5.

Thanks guys.
-Kyle

 

[JamesG161]

can I just add a 1.5" high UHMW "sleeve bearing" on top of what you see in the pic?

your first picture or IMG-2525 looks correct.
Answer: It is very difficult to type answer directly

Also both @smokey73 and I have talked about your rudder by phone. I suggest the same and will PM you such.

And yes he and I just replaced our rudders.
Jim...

 

[JamesG161]

will PM you such

Done!! look at your Private Messages

 

[Daveinet]

Just for fun, if it is still apart, you may want to spray the inner galvanized tube with galvanized paint. My reasoning is that the areas that are freshly drilled are not galvanized and would be a path for rust. While I don't think it would rust enough to weaken, the rust will expand and possibly crack the fiberglass, which you would want to avoid.