Rudder Shaft/Rudder Tube Noise

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
When I bought my 93 C30 in Nov 2017, the surveyor pointed out a little play in the rudder. He felt it was not excessive and shouldn’t be a concern.

I adjusted the cables per Edson’s instructions and that removed most of the slop in the rudder. I put the rudder tube bearing repair on my list of future things to do.

Last season the radial drive compartment kept filling with water and I kept flushing the drain line to clean it and drain the compartment but the dirt in the compartment kept clogging the line so I frequently found the compartment with a lot of water in it.

In preparation for this season of sailing I put extra effort in cleaning the drain hose., then scrubbed the compartment clean. Now the compartment stays relatively dry.

Now in heavy winds, on a starboard tack only, I’m getting a moaning sound from the steering compartment. It sounds like the dry SS rudder shaft is rubbing on the dry fiberglass of the rudder tube. It’s quiet on a port tack or in light winds.

I tried spraying water under the radial drive to lube where the SS shaft comes up out of the rudder tube. That stops the noise for the rest of that sail but it returns a few days later.

Of course I can’t see or feel under the radial wheel to see actually what is there.

I’ve thought of trying to saturate the area with something like a graphite lube, McLube SailtKote or another type of dry lube.

Does it sound like I’m on the right track as to the cause of the noise and how to stop it?

I’ve already talked to the yard and when they haul the boat in the fall they will drop and reinstall the rudder so I can do the West System epoxy/graphite rudder tube bearing repair to eliminate the rudder slop.

Thanks,
Ward H