Plastic Bearing / Washer between Rudder & Hull

[Bob Pullen HC-33 1981]

We have a 1981 H-33 Cherubini, which will soon have a new rudder thanks to being towed over a sandbank by good samaritan park rangers . Anyway, has anyone ever (thought of or) added a giant plastic washer / bearing donut onto the rudder post before putting it into the rudder tube (when re-inserting the rudder post), so that it stays outside the hull between the rudder and the hull? I was wondering if this wouldn't add further strengthening, preventing any minor bending in the rudder post on some groundings?
many thanks as always
Bob
S/V Seanorita
Yucatan, Mexico

 

[cbsailor]

Our H27 had one.

Not sure if it was a factory installation, but our 1981 H27 had a large teflon washer (spacer) on the shaft that kept the top of the rudder spaced away from the hull. As I remember it was about 3/8" thick.

 

[Bob Pullen HC-33 1981]

Any Pictures?

Interesting...How wide was the spacer? The more I think about it the more I think I will try to add such a feature when I put the new rudder back on.
If anyone has had any experience with this type of setup, any pictures, diagrams, or measurements would be sincerely appreciated. Please send to the email below.
Many thanks
Bob
S/V Seanorita
pullenbob at yahoo dot com

 

[Ed Schenck]

Do you have pictures Bob?

I don't think your H33 and my H37C are alike back there. My rudder has a collar that rides on a glass bearing surface above the inside support. This prevents the rudder from dropping down. A friend added the same collar underneath the support. This prevented the rudder from "floating" or moving up against the hull. I could direct you to a picture but we don't have the "Photo Forum" yet on the new HOW. On my H37C I don't think there is enough room for a "donut" of the necessary width. It would wear too fast with not enough material.

 

[SamLust]

Pictures of the original rudder support and quadrant stops on my 1983 Hunter 33 for Bob.

 

[Bob Pullen HC-33 1981]

Thanks very much Sam. I will be studying these for a while. Is that your autopilot on the port side of the rudder post? I am curious about the packing gland that is below the white fiberglass cross-member. Do you have any pictures of what is below the cross-member? This is what mine looked like, from the rudder tube, packing gland, cross member, packing nut, rusty altar-like support structure, and close up detail of quadrant to rudder post assembly.
Many thanks for ideas, pictures, suggestions, and advice!
I appreciate all the help.
Bob

 

[Paul F]

Advantage of the rudder post altar

One of the interesting designs and engineering of the rudder post attachment on the Hunter 33 is that the post gland is out of the water when at rest. It is only when under sail or power with the stern down that the gland holds the sea from entering the boat. The altar allows the gland to be placed higher on the rudder post and thereby higher than the water line. The alter support, however, doesn't look as strong as the cross ship support of the lower bearing on Sam's and my boat. Adding a cross member at the top of the altar would add support if you feel it is needed. Another advantage of the altar is that the gland is much more accessible than it is under the lower cross ship supports.

 

[John T1594]

Rudder washer

I used to have a 1980 H30. I notriced that when the rudder "floated" up when the boat was in the water, the rudder would grind against the hull around the rudder post. There was no washer in place when I bought the boat. I cut two large plastic donuts from the covers of large buckets. Since my rudder was on the boat, I had to make a radial cut in the donuts in order to slip them around the rudder post. I greased these washers every year with some water-proof grease and to my surprise, they lasted perhaps 8 years and were still in place when I sold the boat. They stopped the grinding and made steering a bit easier.

 

[SamLust]

Aha!! Now I understand!!

I couldn't see before that the replacement shaft log comes up through the cross support plate. That explains the need for your"alter". Yhe support point went away with the hole cut out for the new log to come up through. When I was faced with my repair dilemma when I discovered the rotted packing nut I strongly considered a shaft log connected to the rudder shaft tube with a rubber connector just like your previous owner did. Finding someone to make a new nut made that unnecessary and obviously saved me a lot of work..

I love the expedient of using bucket plastic as a thrust washer! I will admit to the same thing a few times. Lots cheaper and quicker than ordering from McMaster!

The connecting pieces you see next to the rudder shaft are the Raymarine rudder position sensor and connecting rod. The arm it connects to on the rudder shaft itself is fabricated from square aluminum tubing from the hardware store. Hole saw for the half moon cut and a "U" bolt to attach.

The attached picture gives a lower view of the rudder tube packing nut and it's locking nut.

 

[Bob Pullen HC-33 1981]

Re: Aha!! Now I understand!!

Hi Sam
thanks for the pictures -- got a couple questions
1. In your setup, the cross member has the square white plastic with what seems like a metal plate on top of it, upon which the collar that is attached to the rudder post, sits. what is that metal plate (made of)? Am I right in concluding that these 2 surfaces are the rudder load bearing point?
2. In your last picture, it seems like your packing nut is attached to a metal pipe whereas mine is attached to a rubber hose (w/ 2 hose clamps). Then the rubber hose is attached to the rudder tube on the hull, which looks like a 4" cylindrical fiberglass volcano, with the hollow rudder steel rudder tube inside. Where & how does the metal pipe that is under your packing nut attach to the hull?

thanks for all the informative postings
cheers
Bob
S/V Seanorita
1981 Hunter 33 Cherubini

 

[SamLust]

Clarification

1- The metal plate sitting on top of the plastic bearing is aluminum. The collar, aluminum plate and plastic bearing make up the load bearing system. It is in reality a "thrust bearing".

2- The "metal pipe" is the rudder tube. It's topmost portion is threaded and accepts the nut which contains the flax packing that keeps the water out. Your rubber hose is the non-original fix that the previous owner made. He bought a packing gland set-up and bolted it on to the rudder tube in place of the original. That cylindrical fiberglass volcano was probably his idea of reinforcing the thing. The stainless steel rudder tube is simply glassed in as part of the original fiberglass layup as the hull was built.

 

[Bob Pullen HC-33 1981]

Thanks

In my setup, the rudder tube only extends into the hull about 3.5", and is surrounded by fiiberglass matt, around which the bottom of the rubber tube on the packing gland grasps, with the help of 2 hose clamps. The PO must have sliced it off and built up the fiberglass around the bottom, or something along those lines.
Many thanks for all the help.
Bob