Rudder Post bushings
Bryan, I have a Pearson 26 (acquired last year) that had a wobbly rudder post. When it was hauled for the winter, I removed the rudder and brought it home (my wife was thrilled). I found that in my case, the rudder bushings (made of fiberglass & epoxy) had become quite worn, in addition to the brass adapter to the tiller/rudder post. I did two things that improved the wobble, though a slight bit still remains. Following some of the procedures on the website below, I bought new bushings (these are made of Delrin, which I had to machine a little to get to fit). Second, where the brass? collar mates with the rudder post, I added a sleeve of West System fiberglass/expoxy around the collar for a snug fit inside the post. I think that most of my wobble was coming from the worn bushings, though the fiberglass/epoxy sleeve helped some. I also found that the thru-hole for the bolt which holds the collar to the rudder post was enlarged from wear. Couldn't do much about this (the original Pearson rudder posts were Aluminum, and the replacement on my boat has a newer Stainless Steel post, which has a slightly smaller OD (but is stronger). Good Luck! David 'Wild Goose'
