Hunter 26.5 tiller question

[Heat Miser]

Hi. I'm new here and new to Hunter sailboats. Recently, I purchased a 1987 Hunter 26.5 that was in dry storage for about 10 years. The boat is in fantastic condition overall but requires a bit of attention. It appears I'm missing a part at the base of the tiller (see photos). Can someone tell me where to find it? Also, there's some play in the tiller that seems excessive. Is this normal or is there a way to adjust the tension? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[John A12737]

Mine has plastic/teflon spacers, the inside diameter of the shaft, between the rudder and the boat and between the tiller and the deck. There is very little free space between either. Have you tightened the all of the bolts on the tiller?

 

[John A12737]

Another thing... The only thing holding the rudder on is the bolt (with acorn nut) and the cap. Take those off and the ruder falls off.
When I changed to an Ida rudder, I had the boat on the trailer and had to dig a hole under the rudder to get it out.

 

[Heat Miser]

John A12737, thank you for the reply. Can you tell me roughly how thick the spacers are? I'll check the bolts this weekend.

 

[John A12737]

My foss foam rudder's spacers were around 1/4". The Ida rudder's were thinner, around 3/8" - less distance between the top of the rudder and the post cap, and with less free space between bottom of the boat and lower spacer.
I'll check this weekend on the original spacers. If you can pull your boat, you might check the space between the boat bottom and the lower spacer.
Something else that impacted the rudder feel, was the mast tuning. Also: I replace my original rudder, because by the end of summer, it took on water creating a "wobble" feel... And the Ida rudder is faster.

 

[borgians]

My foss foam rudder's spacers were around 1/4". The Ida rudder's were thinner, around 3/8" - less distance between the top of the rudder and the post cap, and with less free space between bottom of the boat and lower spacer.
I'll check this weekend on the original spacers. If you can pull your boat, you might check the space between the boat bottom and the lower spacer.
Something else that impacted the rudder feel, was the mast tuning. Also: I replace my original rudder, because by the end of summer, it took on water creating a "wobble" feel... And the Ida rudder is faster.

Hi John. I'm late to this post....do you know the diameter of the rudder post so I can cut the bearing to size before I try and mount it. Thanks Steve email borgians@uscb.edu

 

[limpsailor]

I'm having the same issue with mine. There is only a small chunk of the original spacer left, and I have play both vertically and horizontally. I just came across this post, can someone give me an update as to how you solved this issue, and how it's working out for you. Thanks!

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Heat Riser,
Address your concern to Al Fooks at the forum store. I believe the forum store has the parts you need. If Al. Dave. phil or others do not know, Al should be able to come up with the original design as he use to work retail for Hunter years ago.