G26 rudder repair while in water?

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Jan 29, 2013
8
Grampian G26 South Shore Harbnor
Hello all,

I need to repair the rudder bushings of my Grampian G26. I wanted to remove the rudder while she is in the water at her dock. Is this doable? I recall having seen other sites where doing this is mentioned.
My plan is to get the rudder to the house, where I can dry it out and do a proper rebuild, then reinstall it at the dock.

Just wanted to know if this is feasable. Thanks for the input.

Craig
 
Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
There is a good chance you will find out if it sinks or floats. I would make sure to tie it off really well if in the water.
I'm betting on sink.
 
Oct 26, 2005
2,057
- - Satellite Beach, FL.
If this is line drawing is your boat, as soon as you pull the rudder head bolt, it's free to be removed or drop to the bottom like F41 says!
If you clamp onto the top end of the rudder shaft with large vice grips, pull the bolt and then tie a piece of that braided fishing line (I think it's less likely to pinch/cut than mono) through the bolt hole with enough slack it'll be easier to find if it drops.
 

Gary_H

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Nov 5, 2007
469
Cal 2-25 Carolina Beach NC
I removed the rudder of my Cal 25 while in the water it was actually easier than I thought. The rudder itself was buoyant but the shaft had all the weight. In my boat the rudder shaft tube extends well past the waterline so I didn't have to worry about stuffing box seals or anything, may want to check that.
 

jimq26

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Jun 5, 2004
860
- - -
Don't even think of trying to remove the rudder if you are not on the hard. The G-26 rudder weighs about 60 lbs. Removing it and then getting it back into the rudder shaft (bronze tube encapsulated in fibreglass), is hard enough when out of the water.

I doubt you really need to redo "rudder bushings". The lower bushing is fixed to the rudder tube and not removable. This rarely needs any attention. Rudder slop is usually caused by the top bearing wearing away at the cockpit sole level. The simplest way to repair this is shown in the attached picture. That s/s plate screwed to the cockpit sole is fabricated from two pieces of 1/8" thick stainless, with a hole cut into the centre which is about 1/16" larger than the rudder shaft. When assembled and mounted, you will have eliminated any rudder slop.
 

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Gary_H

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Nov 5, 2007
469
Cal 2-25 Carolina Beach NC
I just put my rudder back in while in the water after fixing a crack and reglassing. I'm a diver so I had no problems working with the rudder under water. Even though the rudder tries to float the shaft is heavey and will sink. If you don't have scuba gear and not used to working with large objects under water, you may not want to try it. tie a line to it to make it easier to retrieve if it should drop to the bottom.
 
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