I need to replace the rudder bushing on my 1971 P26. THe new bushing say to heat them first. But the bushings are so tight theat even with heating they son't fit on the rudder without tapping them down a then obviously they will not spin. I am workign with a broke cyclinder hone to make them wider but was wondering if anyone else had this problem and how they approached it. Obsviously the wear should be by the bushin gso it need to spin on teh rudder shaft and not in the guide tube. Maybe the early model rudder stock was thicker than the later models so the bushings are really the wrong size? I bought these from D&R Marine who seem to know this boat well. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Mike
P26 Rudder bushing replacement
- Thread starter DLM
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Oops-Sorry for typos
Oops- Sorry for the typos- That was a brake cylinder hone among other mistakes! Mike
Oops- Sorry for the typos- That was a brake cylinder hone among other mistakes! Mike
Bushings
Mike, Been there and done that with yard help on my P30 about four years ago. The mistake we made was inserting the bushings in the boat mortise instead of on the rudder post first. Then it was just about impossible to install the rudder. Couldn't get them out of the mortise either. Took serveral guys at least an hour of serious grunt work. The tightness didn't matter when sailing as the tiller is such a long lever. In fact it is kind nice as it holds the tiller a little while sailing. I like that tight feel, though they squeek a bit. -Mike
Mike, Been there and done that with yard help on my P30 about four years ago. The mistake we made was inserting the bushings in the boat mortise instead of on the rudder post first. Then it was just about impossible to install the rudder. Couldn't get them out of the mortise either. Took serveral guys at least an hour of serious grunt work. The tightness didn't matter when sailing as the tiller is such a long lever. In fact it is kind nice as it holds the tiller a little while sailing. I like that tight feel, though they squeek a bit. -Mike
Been There...
I replaced the bushings on my '75 P26 two winters ago, with replacements from D&R. My rudder had been replaced by the previous owner with a FossFoam rudder - Stainless Steel shaft. I too found that the inner diameter of the new bushings was smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft. I used a dremel tool to remove only a small amount of the inner diameter. Then, I was able to fit the new bushings on the shaft. I removed a little too much material from one of the bushings, somewhat in fear that it would be too tight, but I wish that I had been more careful. The moment arm from the long tiller more than makes up for the tightness of the bushings. I seem to remember now that I epoxied the lower bushing into place in the boat mortise with a few spots of epoxy. There was some wear in the fiberglass, so I wanted the bushing to remain fixed, while the shaft rotates within.
I replaced the bushings on my '75 P26 two winters ago, with replacements from D&R. My rudder had been replaced by the previous owner with a FossFoam rudder - Stainless Steel shaft. I too found that the inner diameter of the new bushings was smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft. I used a dremel tool to remove only a small amount of the inner diameter. Then, I was able to fit the new bushings on the shaft. I removed a little too much material from one of the bushings, somewhat in fear that it would be too tight, but I wish that I had been more careful. The moment arm from the long tiller more than makes up for the tightness of the bushings. I seem to remember now that I epoxied the lower bushing into place in the boat mortise with a few spots of epoxy. There was some wear in the fiberglass, so I wanted the bushing to remain fixed, while the shaft rotates within.
Snug but not tight?
Hi David, Your response is helpful. The brake hone removes the material very slowly so I am going carefully. However, do you remember, was it a push fit to seat the bushing on the shaft or did it go on easily. Obviously one of the problems is that the shaft above where the bushing sits is less worn down than where the bushing sits so there is concern that a tight fit on the shaft will be a loose fit when in place at the bottom of the shaft. Still it is currently impossible to get down to that spot to check the fit so I will keep trimming. THanks Mike
Hi David, Your response is helpful. The brake hone removes the material very slowly so I am going carefully. However, do you remember, was it a push fit to seat the bushing on the shaft or did it go on easily. Obviously one of the problems is that the shaft above where the bushing sits is less worn down than where the bushing sits so there is concern that a tight fit on the shaft will be a loose fit when in place at the bottom of the shaft. Still it is currently impossible to get down to that spot to check the fit so I will keep trimming. THanks Mike
Fit
I bought some calipers on ebay for this project. I found that there was very little difference in diameter along the shaft, probably because my rudder was fairly new - and the fact that the old bushings were so worn, that they were not really in full contact with the shaft. Good luck!
I bought some calipers on ebay for this project. I found that there was very little difference in diameter along the shaft, probably because my rudder was fairly new - and the fact that the old bushings were so worn, that they were not really in full contact with the shaft. Good luck!
DLM
I have never changed the bushings, however, if you put the rudder back into place, without the bushings and mark the top of the rudder post tube on the rudder post, possibly you can measure down to where the bushing will sit to see if it will be tight when in place.........just a thought. Also, I do not understand why people epoxy the bottom bushing in place.....how will you get them out if needed down the road. Sounds like set screws would work best in this application to give good future maintenance. Or is there no way to seal the set screws due to that area of the tube being below the water line?? This is a project I am very interested in. My bushings appear to be in good shape....about an inch above the rudder tube....I am very ignorant regarding the rudder bushings as my previous boat had none....just a rudder post tube I only sailed my P36-2 1 time so I do not know how ultimately it feels and if there is play.....will soon find out though!! Good luck! Greg P36-2
I have never changed the bushings, however, if you put the rudder back into place, without the bushings and mark the top of the rudder post tube on the rudder post, possibly you can measure down to where the bushing will sit to see if it will be tight when in place.........just a thought. Also, I do not understand why people epoxy the bottom bushing in place.....how will you get them out if needed down the road. Sounds like set screws would work best in this application to give good future maintenance. Or is there no way to seal the set screws due to that area of the tube being below the water line?? This is a project I am very interested in. My bushings appear to be in good shape....about an inch above the rudder tube....I am very ignorant regarding the rudder bushings as my previous boat had none....just a rudder post tube I only sailed my P36-2 1 time so I do not know how ultimately it feels and if there is play.....will soon find out though!! Good luck! Greg P36-2
Success but not easy
For what it is worth, I completed the installation of the lower bushing and thought I would provide information in how it went for others who might be interested. First, thanks for the responses to my posting. I sanded and honed the bushing until I could tell it was thinner by eye. It still did not fit well. I heated it and it still would not go down the shaft at all. So based on David's comments I went ahead and put the metal collar that locks the post in place- (the bolt fits through this and the rudder post to hold it up)-on top of the bushing on the shaft. I greased the shaft, and I taped once on each side with a piece of wood on the collar to gently tap the bushing down the shaft alternating, one tap on each side. It was a very tight fit despite my sanding. It moved about a 1/8 inch each time. After about 20 mintues of taping the bushing was pushed to the bottom of the shaft where it spun easily. THus, I thought maybe I had sanded it too much as David had said. Yet it was difficult to get it down the shaft and I am not sure it would have survive the pounding if it had not been sanded down. Hope my experience helps others who have to undertake the task. It is still much better than the old bushing which slid down shaft without any pushing and had way too much play when in place. Mike
For what it is worth, I completed the installation of the lower bushing and thought I would provide information in how it went for others who might be interested. First, thanks for the responses to my posting. I sanded and honed the bushing until I could tell it was thinner by eye. It still did not fit well. I heated it and it still would not go down the shaft at all. So based on David's comments I went ahead and put the metal collar that locks the post in place- (the bolt fits through this and the rudder post to hold it up)-on top of the bushing on the shaft. I greased the shaft, and I taped once on each side with a piece of wood on the collar to gently tap the bushing down the shaft alternating, one tap on each side. It was a very tight fit despite my sanding. It moved about a 1/8 inch each time. After about 20 mintues of taping the bushing was pushed to the bottom of the shaft where it spun easily. THus, I thought maybe I had sanded it too much as David had said. Yet it was difficult to get it down the shaft and I am not sure it would have survive the pounding if it had not been sanded down. Hope my experience helps others who have to undertake the task. It is still much better than the old bushing which slid down shaft without any pushing and had way too much play when in place. Mike
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