rudder problems

[Michael Diane Murr]

Hello. I am the owner of a 1983 Hunter, purchased last April. It has been refurbished, updated, etc., mostly by my husband and myself. Finally got it in for a sail last weekend. Shortly after getting out there, I felt it a bit hard to handle, esp tacking, etc. Then I found that the rudder was not down, but sort of trailing behind me horizontally about halfway submerged. This made for a lot of resistance to tacking to say the least. I was unable to push it down. Also there is a line inside the rudder housing which runs through a cam cleat and exits near the tiller attachment. I realize it must be for adjusting the angle of the rudder or maybe even to bring it up, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

If anyone out there has experienced this problem with a rudder I'd gladly listen. Obviously we need to tighten some bolts, but I have a feeling there's more to it!

Thanks much!
Michael Diane Murr

 

[Bill Roosa]

piviting rudder

Hi Michael
I'm not a 22 owner but I seem to recall that the rudder pivots up for trailering. There should be a quick connect pin that you put in to hold it in place while in the water.

 

[George H260]

Rudder

You fail to indicate the model Hunter you own. However, you are correct, something is not right. The rudder should be pretty much vertical. Most Hunters have a bolt you can tighten and the line is used to lower the rudder. There is also usually a line on the aft part of the blade that is used to raise it. Also, some models have a hole in the rudder that you can insert a pin into that keeps the rudder down.


Let us know the model of your boat, maybe we can find a manual for it.

You might get some ideas on the proper functioning of the rudder by looking at these pictures of the H260 rudder setup.

Go to: http://h260.com/rudder/rudder_problems/rudder.html

 

[Wanderer138]

Rudder downhaul

The rudder blade on most small Hunters is designed to kick up and float if you hit a submerged obstruction. The line that exits near the tiller is used to haul the blade down into the sailing position. The cam cleat holds it in place once down. It sounds like your line may be frayed or broken.

If you undo the rudder blade pivot bolt from the rudder housing the blade can be removed and you should see the rest of the line tied to a padeye on top of the blade. Replace the line (6 feet should be enough but 8 feet is better because you need enough to make up the knot at the padeye and run through the cam cleat with the rudder blade still out of the housing. It's simpler than it sounds and shouldn't take more than half an hour.

A few notes of caution:

1) Try not to do this near the water...nuts and washers have a habit of falling in.

2) There are teflon bearing disks inside the rudder housing, on either side of the blade. If they're broken or really worn, old CD's will work in a pinch until you get proper replacements

3) resist the urge to get a larger diameter line. Cam cleats don't work well if spread wider to fit a larger line. In addition, the exit from the housing is tight. If the line jams when you hit an obstruction, the blade may not kick up enough and may be damaged instead.

4) Don't get the slick double-braid line (usually in solid colors like blue or red). The cam cleat doesn't grip them very well. Good old fashioned white polyester (Sta-Set, not Sta-Set X) is inexpensive and works fine.

Good luck.
Peter
H23 "Raven"

 

[Michael Diane Murr]

Re: Rudder downhaul

Hello, Peter,
Thanks for your response--a lot of good info there. I think we have at least part of the problem solved. We plan to add a little rubber gasket inside the bolts to help them hold better. Part of it was my inexperience and now I've figured out that using the winch to help downhaul it is a big help. But after reading your reply I think we need to check some other things and possibly change out the line. I'm currently using a double-braid which was extra main sheet and it sounds like that may not be the best one to use. Thanks again for helping!!

Michael Diane Murr
Wayfarer III, 22

 

[Michael Diane Murr]

Re: Rudder

Thank you for referring us to that article. The idea of having to do a "one-footed flamingo tango" off the stern is kinda scary for me so I've been coming up with a way to use the winch to help downhaul. I'm waiting for a good day to go out and test to see if it is not going to stay down or if I'll be able to get it back down should it pop up.

Thanks much for replying!
Michael Diane Murr
Wayfarer III, 22

 

[Doug L]

My 1994 Hunter 26 has the flip up rudder with the line to pull it up and down and uses a pinch bolt with a large wingnut to help hold the rudder in the desired position. I can see only 2 desired positions, all the way up or all the way down. If the rudder is not straight down, as you have found out, the tiller is extremely heavy, and puts a high load on the rudder. I bet it would be easy to bereak in this position, but fortunately I have not found out. I have used the rudder part way up in very shallow water, but I find when the boat is underway it is darn near impossible to get the rudder down, I have had to stop to lower the rudder, then get back under way. I find a bit of brute force and ignorance is required to get the rudder up or down. I first make sure I have the correct end of the rope and give a hard, steady pull so the momentum of the moving rudder helps carry it all the way down or up, then lock the line on the cleat on my tiller, and tighten the big wingnut on the side of the rudder support. If I am not firm in pulling on the line at the beginning the rudder tends to stop in the middle and is difficult to get the rest of the way down or up, as the case may be. You have to show it who is boss!

 

[Wanderer138]

Fighting the rudder

Hi Doug:

I'm not too familiar with the 1994 H26 but I'm a bit surprised to hear that you have to pull so hard to get the blade to go down. I agree that a good steady pull and using the momentum is the way to go, but it still sounds like you're working harder than you should. You may want to take a look inside the rudder housing to see if something's binding. The way my downhaul is rigged, I straddle the tiller facing aft and pull up and back on the line to get the blade to go down. The only thing holding it down is the cam cleat.

Peter

 

[Hawk4661]

Re: Rudder

Thanks George ...very informative. I just dropped my ruder last time out.I need to do a patch k job before sring whch isnt far off....mark<><

 

[Hawk4661]

Re: Fighting the rudder

Hi Doug...I have a 1993 H23.5.It has a winf nut you need to loosen to lower.I always retighten this wing nut to keep the rudder in a vertical postion.
There are two lines for rasing and lowering. Raising it for me is much harder than lowering.Gl mark<><