I did quite a bit of work on the rudder and steering after I purchased my 1983 H37C. I replaced the rudder (it had some strange spider cracks) and the top plywood 'shelf' that holds the upper rudder bearing (it had got wet from a deck leak and was delaminating). The upper bearing is Delrin or UHMW or something and showed no wear or slop when fitted to the new rudder post so I used it again. A few years later, I noticed a bit of side-to-side play in the rudder on haul out. I dropped the rudder and rebuilt the moulded-in bearing by using West epoxy mixed with graphite powder, according to their repair manual (its really just the fiberglass tube glassed into the hull - that's they way they were built back then). Tip: wax the rudder post really well! After that I installed a Cape Horn servo-pendulum wind vane connected directly to the quadrant via ropes and pulleys. After the rebuild, I never had any play in the system. I think Tom's split bearing carried on the plate he bolted to the angle iron is probably overkill. My $0.02 anyway.
