C&C36 rudder bearing replacement, osmosis?, front hatch etc

goco

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Dec 2, 2015
3
C&C 36 MKII Curaçao
Dear ... Forum

Before i point my questions, a short introduction to Sailboatowners.com and its users !
April 2014 i bought a C&C 36, 1980 in Miami. Sailed her through the Bahamas, Haiti (where Canoo boys made some nice deep scratches on the hull ), Dominican Republic to Curaçao.
Now docked in Curaçao, this year i had a very relaxed and beautiful trip to Bonaire, Los Aves and Los Roques.
In februari 2016 i hope more enjoyable sails to come through Los Roques, then heading st. Martin (Maybe, just maybe from Los Roques, before heading to st. Martin a sail to mainland Venezuela, Pt. Cabello for some wood and canvas work...).

Before this sail to st. Martin i have to do some work.
I will haul out at Curaçao Marine for about a month .

-Polish and paint entire Hull.
-Osmosis (or not?) above the waterline?.
-Replacement rudder bearings. Check rudder meganics.
-Replacement front hatch.
-Build in rudder adjuster for raymarine p70 wheel.
-New Canvas Bimini. (eventually later in Venezuale and/or design of a new frame).
-Paint deck and tub(?).
-Maintanance Winches.
-Repair/replace Outboard
-Constructing a 40 ft. Jacob's ladder

I want to strip the anti fouling from the bottom (it has allready fall off at 3 or 4 places, about 1mm thick small plates...) and i want to strip the paint above the waterline too.

What concerns me more is: I have blisters +- 7 to 9 inches above the waterline. These blisters almost totally disappeare when the boat is at dock for a few months, but after a week to 10 days of sailing they start to grow up again. Getting worse a little about every day when sailing (and at a certain level it seems to stop...).
I read about "the underwater section of the hull has 7 layers of fibre and above the waterline just 5 layers". At the transistion of these layers it should happen more often that blisters appear. Under the waterline i have no bubbles or blisters at all.
So I think i can say i don't have to worry about Osmosis (?).
Question?: If i strip the entire hull. Thinking about the 220+ Haitian scratches, would it be recommendable to add a new gell coat before painting?

Besides I have a rudder problem! The bearings of the rudder seem to get bad (It started just a few days after leaving Miami, tightened the upper bolt and been sailing about 75 days since...). Now, when i dive at the very bottom of the rudderblade i can move (tilt) it about half an inch.
The upper bolt (above on the deck behind the helm) is moving and cracking (!) maybe about a quarter inch max during sailing, and cracking quite loud when there is sudden pressure on the rudderblade. I tightend the ground plate from the upperbolt a few times.
The Caribbean Sea can be nasty, so i tend to search for good windows but i think when the going gets tough the rudder could get bad rapidly...?

Bearings for the rudder might be hard to get in Curaçao, ordering from there can take a long time, so i want to bring the bearings from the Netherlands.
I have been reading the internet but some time ago i could only find someone (with superb explainations and foto's) working on a C&C 40 (i think it was), from which the rudder/shaft etc. looks quite similar to my C&C 36.. Though he doesn't give sizes of
the 2(?) ruddershaft bearings?

Question?: Does anyone has or knows where to find C&C 36, year 1980, ruddershaft bearing measurements ? Can i presume that after 35 years the bearings will be still original/same sizes? i.e. does it happen a lot the rudder gets loose?
I am not a real experienced meganic, so on the rudder i definately need help. I spoke to a local meganic and think he does a good job.

Thank you so much for replying on my topic.
Do excuse me for my not very correct english.
Nico