h40.5 rudder play - How much is too much?

[Rich Stidger]

I first noticed play in the rudder when the boat was about five years old. At that time I talked to several Hunter dealers and also to the factory. All of them assured me that the amount of play that I described was not any kind of a problem. I heard that some boats have a bit more play than others, but that the rudder bearings were extremely robust and had a life expectancy of upwards of 30 years.

So every year I shake my rudder and estimate if the amount of play is about the same as last year. I never took any actual measurements, but the total travel from port to starboard seemed to be about 3/32". This year it seems to be about 1/8" but I can't be sure that it is really any worse than the last six years. I am not really worried about it, but I sure would like to know why some rudders have more play than others for the same model.

I have a 5-second avi clip of the movement that I can email to anyone who would like to see it - only 756Kb.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Rich
Same issue - I also check when hauled and it never seems to get worse and as always, the yard can't wait to drop the rudder but I tell them so far, so good...

Send me the video and I'll try to give you a sense if mine is similar.

 

[Marco Garcia]

I think the rudder bearings are teflon rings on the shaft, and the shaft slided in the rudder post. If you have about an 1/8 side to side, then you should also have 1/8" front to back, which would mean your teflon rings are worn (or compressed) 1/16" all around. Does this sound right?

Marco

 

[Guest]

Rudder play

Hi Rich, awhile ago I talked to Don Martin about your topic and he was very helpful in providing me with some technical advice. I placed this article in what was then called the P42 Knowledge Base. I suspect your boat has very much the same setup. The article follows:

Don Martin with Hunter Marine Customer Service provided me with the following information about our 1991 P42. I've edited his response a bit for clarity:

The rudder bearings are sleeves that are made from UHMW material. The sleeves do not require any lubricate. There is no adjustment on these bearings. If they develop too much side-to-side play then the bearings would need to be replaced. Anything over 1/8th inch play would be considered outside of tolerance and the bearing would need to be replaced.

In another e-mail to Don I asked him whether it was a matter of dropping the rudder and popping the old bearing out or did it require special tools? He said that after the rudder is removed you should be able to remove the bearings by driving the top bearing out and from the underside of the boat you should be able to insert something like a 1 x 2 up into the rudder tube and there should be a ridge at the bottom of the top bearing, you should be able to get the 1 x 2 on this ridge and drive the bearing up. This would be reverse for the bottom bearing.

It might be worthwhile to talk to Hunter Marine Customer Service about your specific boat model to see whether other considerations come into play. A temporary fix to reduce play, according to a local surveyor, is to drop the rudder a few inches and insert a section of teflon sheet around the post at the lower bearing.

I have done none of these, so take what I say with a grain of paprika. Don Martin, however, speaks with some authority.

Terry Cox