Knocking sound from rudder post

[K-Mac]

I bought my Catalina 30 (Megansett) last June and have been gradually refitting her from stem to stern. I sail on Lake Erie and sailed to Canada over the weekend. Coming back yesterday we chose to motor through the 30 knot winds and 6 foot seas. It was an exciting ride but the boat handled it just fine. I did notice a knocking sound coming from the rudder post. I could look at the emergency tiller and see the post move slightly back and forth when ever I heard the sound. At times it would happen about every 4 to 5 seconds but the steering seemed to be fine. Has anyone had this problem? Is it something that must be fixed now or can it wait until the boat is pulled in the fall? I have never noticed the noise before but then again this was the toughest conditions I have been in with this boat.

Your advise would be appreciated.

 

[Chris Burti]

Similar problem common to Cal's

I can't speak to the C-30 construction, but this might start you down the path of finding your own solution.

As there were no bearings of any sort between the rudder shaft and the rudder tube of the early 70's Cal's, this was a common problem. The metal shaft would wear the tube from friction. The easiest solution was to support the rudder...they will sink...and remove the rudder head. Once the rudder head was removed, we would stuff long, narrow shims cut from milk bottles or 2-liter drink bottles down between the shaft and the tube until the the slop was taken up and the shaft turned smoothly. If your C-30 is built like my C-320, this may not be feasible as I don't think I can get at my tube without dropping the rudder.

Some owners sought a more permanent repair. Once the boat was on the hard, they dropped the rudder, then they waxed the shaft with mold release wax, put the shaft back in the tube, sealed the bottom with plumbers putty and pumped filled epoxy down from the top. The theory was that the epoxy would bond to the tube and being molded to fit the shaft, would form a perfect no-slop fit. The theory worked...the problem was that the shaft was usually worn some as well and because the rudder turns back and forth rather than around, the wear was usually elliptical with the result that the shaft would be almost immovable after the repair. Latter wisdom if the shims weren't acceptable, was to reglass a new tube molded to a reshafted rudder or to have the shaft sleeved and bond the sleeve inside a reglassed and bored tube ... these efforts were pretty much confined to hard core Cal-40 racers.

 

[jviss]

Check it

I would carefully check the steering gear, all the way from the wheel to the rudder. I'm not quite sure about how the 30 is rigged, but if its anything like my 1984 C36, the original design is done contrary to Edson's design guidelines, and a broken fitting on a steering cable conduit (guide-tube) produced the same symptom on mine. Edson recommends using conduit only for small changes in cable routing around things; Catalina used it to bend the steering cables through 90 degrees, with only about 12" radius. The solution is to remove the conduit and bracket altogether and install an adjustable idler pulley assembly, which bolts below to the existing pedestal mounting bolts, and leads the steering cables back directly to the radial drive. I had to cut two holes for clearance in the steering gear cover below the pedestal. This makes the steering much smoother, much lighter, and much more reliable, not to mention "correct" as far as Edson is concerned.

 

[K-Mac]

I will be sure to check it out

Thanks for the suggestion. As it turns out my Catalina 30 is also a 1984 so it would definately make sense to check to see if it has the same problem as you 34.

 

[K-Mac]

Not dangerous

Thanks for the information. I also checked with the maintenance head of my marina who claims that this is a common problem but it doesn't present any immediate danger. I will check it out further later this week but unless I find serious damage I will wait until it is on the hard before I attempt any permament repair.

 

[jviss]

take a look yourself

if it is what I had, you will be shocked at how much better the steering is after the "upgrade" to the correct setup. It's not free, but it's not out of the question. I took the opportunity to replace the steering cables while I was at it, and lube the steering chain. I made the cables myself at West Marine, since they had all the components and the swager.