Pedestal base squeak/creak?

Jun 2, 2014
589
Catalina 30 mkII - 1987 Alamitos Bay Marina, LB, CA
87 MK2 with standard Edson wheel pedestal.
I noticed recently during the past couple of trips that very occasionally I would hear a small creaking noise in the floor just under the pedestal while motor sailing with autopilot. It didn't correspond directly with any of the wheel movements. The bothersome part is that I don't ever remember hearing it before, so this is going to drive me crazy.
I climbed underneath the pedestal in the qtr berth and could hear it clearly in the lower square part of the pedstal housing. I also popped open the emergency tiller cover and it appeared that the creaking may have corresponded to tiny side-to-side movements of the rudder post with whatever small amount of play there was. But, I'm not 100% sure. It looked really dirty and gunky in there, so between trips I opened the cockpit rudder cover and cleaned out that area and the rudder pulley really well, so it's clean now, but on my next trip I heard it again.
I'm not convinced it's the rudder post still. The sound seemed to be coming more forward from under the base of the pedestal than anything else.
There was nothing I figure out to recreate the sound by moving the wheel or pushing/pulling on the pedestal, so I'm assuming it's coming from something in the lower area of the pedestal. Curious if anybody has any ideas?
 
May 1, 2011
4,188
Pearson 37 Lusby MD
Could it be one of the idler sheaves getting ready to fail? They guide the steering cable down from the pedestal aft to the quadrant. I had a catastrophic failure in 2017 that was preceded by a creaking noise. Maneuvered back into the slip with the emergency tiller. Documented here: State of emergency tillers
 
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Jun 2, 2014
589
Catalina 30 mkII - 1987 Alamitos Bay Marina, LB, CA
Good question. I don’t know. I’ve taken off my compass once and looked from under the rudder cover so I’ve seen bits of what you’re talking about but I am not sure if I’d know if one is ready to fail. How did yours fail? Or do I need to read your story? Sorry, I didn’t click on it yet.
 
Jun 2, 2014
589
Catalina 30 mkII - 1987 Alamitos Bay Marina, LB, CA
Just read it. Sounds like a little different setup as my pullies wouldn’t fall anywhere. They’re all enclosed in a fiberglassed housing. But I’ll do a little more poking. Around and inspecting.
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
"Don't remember hearing it before" Sometimes they are there and we don't hear them. My suggestion use the current creaking as a baseline and observe its frequency and intensity going forward. If either rather rapidily increases or intensifies then it is something to address "pronto" If it remains constant, then chances are you will have time to look for the source at your leisure without having to panic about it. Boats are full of creaking noises as the hull, cabin and sole components flex.
 
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Jun 2, 2014
589
Catalina 30 mkII - 1987 Alamitos Bay Marina, LB, CA
Hey All,
So, I inspected what I could visually, and think that the creaking sound is actually coming from the top of the rudder post under the big Edson wheel. Isn't that where the stuffing box is? The idler sheaves looked fine and were not the source of the noise.