Rudder Bearings 1982 Hunter 33'

[plan9]

Greetings,

We have a 1982 33' Hunter that was having some periodic vibration coming from the rudder. We just pulled it to paint the bottom, and on inspection found that it had approximately 1/4" play at the location where the rudder post goes into the underside of the boat. The rudder was pulled and apparently does not have any bearings at the bottom of the post (sitting on top of the rudder) or at the top where it goes through the stuffing box.

We also noticed some strange wear patterns on the rudder post itself- places where it was obviously chaffing.

We noticed the vibration when we are under power and then only sometimes. It is almost as if the vibration of the engine triggers it.

I searched the forums for info and didn't find anything that pertains to the exact model and so I decided to throw it out there to the membership at large. Some of the threads mentioned needing to "wax" the rudder post (there is no lubricant on it now), fit Teflon bearings top and bottom, and using a hole saw to enlarge the lower opening so as to affix a bearing to the bottom of the rudder (yikes!).

Advice/experience on this will be greatly appreciated.

Please see attached pictures!

Thank you

 

[Don12364]

My last boat had nylon rudder bearings which, like yours, wore out. Rudder stock was 2" diameter stainless. I bored the bearings out to 2⅛" and then bought some 1/16" thick teflon sheet and simply used it for liners for top and bottom bearings.
Held them in place with nylon screws from the outside right through the teflon and which I filed the heads off after fitting. Didn't look very secure but then where could the teflon go?
Rudder action became super smooth and they were still there unworn 15 years later when I sold her. It was a really permanent cure and far better than the original setup.

Are you sure there are no existing bearings as this seems unlikely.
Suggest you actually measure the clearance and either have bearings made (from PET not nylon as it swells in water and the rudder seizes) or just purchase some teflon sheet, thickness to suit, and wrap it around the rudder stock. Depending on the length of the rudder tube it might be possible to use one long piece so no fixings would be needed as it couldn't escape. Or maybe one broad piece inserted from the top and a second from the bottom.

 

[Warren Milberg]

When I replaced the two upper white nylon bearings on the rudder stock of my H28.5, I was astounded to find no bearing at all at the lower end (i.e., top of rudder where stock enters the tube). Since I had to have the upper bearings fabricated by a plastics shop, I also had a lower bearing made as well. The bearing slips over the rudder stock and had a small lip to enter the rudder tube and support the rudder there. Of note was the fact that when I dropped my rudder, I found a small crack at the lower end of the rudder tube which could have resulted in a lot of water getting into the boat. I feel certain this crack was caused by all the play in the lower end of the rudder stock rubbing against the tube there. I repaired this crack with MarineTex. There would have been no suitable way to detect this crack without dropping the rudder.