My 1981 H-37C has so much STUFF on board that our current displacement is 23,000#! When we re-did the bottom a couple of years ago, I had to raise the boot stripe all of 5-1/2 inches! Since then, I have seen more and more water coming into the boat from BEHIND the shaft log. I fear it is coming in through the rudder shaft seal. Has anyone replaced/adjusted this seal? Is it accessible at all? Any hot tips? We are filling our bilge quite rapidly, and I have to tackle it soon. Thanks for any advice.
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Rudder Post Seal
The stuffing box for the rudder post is about 4" below the quadrant (disc...whatever). If you remove all the boards in the lazarette and get down in the hole, you can reach it. It has 3 stainless bolts (1/2" I think) that clamp the 2 1/2" ID bronze ring down on some flax packing. The whole stuffing box is connected to the rudder tube with a rubber (?) hose, much like the propellor stuffing box. Another possible source of leak is where the propellor shaft strut bolts through the hull. Very hard to get at, you may be able to reach it from the lazarette or through a small 6" inspection hatch behind the hot water heater, at the very aft end of the engine compartment. Good Luck!
The stuffing box for the rudder post is about 4" below the quadrant (disc...whatever). If you remove all the boards in the lazarette and get down in the hole, you can reach it. It has 3 stainless bolts (1/2" I think) that clamp the 2 1/2" ID bronze ring down on some flax packing. The whole stuffing box is connected to the rudder tube with a rubber (?) hose, much like the propellor stuffing box. Another possible source of leak is where the propellor shaft strut bolts through the hull. Very hard to get at, you may be able to reach it from the lazarette or through a small 6" inspection hatch behind the hot water heater, at the very aft end of the engine compartment. Good Luck!
Been there
I've had mine out several times, so I know what it looks like. AS Jim says, it's held together with 3 bolts. They go down from the top. That bronze fitting ( which is similar to a shaft stuffing box) goes into a rubber hose. That hose goes over a fiberglass tube (which serves also as a bearing) is glassed to the hull. The "stuffing box" has a large O-ring in it, not packing like a prop shaft. It might do some good to tighten the bolts down if they are not all the way down, although it doesn't look to me like it was meant to be adjusted, just run down tight. To replace that ring, assuming you can find one, will require removing the rudder. Another possible problem is that the rubber tube has gotten loose. It has a hose clamp on each end, it could have rusted into pieces. Another possible problem, which I've experienced, is that the quadrant could have dropped down and worked the stuffing box loose. There is nothing to stop it from dropping, and in rough seas, it could come down adn catch it. Or if your rudder is waterlogged and sinks. Yet another thing to worry about is that the fiberglass tube/bearing is loose at it's attachment to the hull. Here is a writeup about that: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/rudder.html Good luck.
I've had mine out several times, so I know what it looks like. AS Jim says, it's held together with 3 bolts. They go down from the top. That bronze fitting ( which is similar to a shaft stuffing box) goes into a rubber hose. That hose goes over a fiberglass tube (which serves also as a bearing) is glassed to the hull. The "stuffing box" has a large O-ring in it, not packing like a prop shaft. It might do some good to tighten the bolts down if they are not all the way down, although it doesn't look to me like it was meant to be adjusted, just run down tight. To replace that ring, assuming you can find one, will require removing the rudder. Another possible problem is that the rubber tube has gotten loose. It has a hose clamp on each end, it could have rusted into pieces. Another possible problem, which I've experienced, is that the quadrant could have dropped down and worked the stuffing box loose. There is nothing to stop it from dropping, and in rough seas, it could come down adn catch it. Or if your rudder is waterlogged and sinks. Yet another thing to worry about is that the fiberglass tube/bearing is loose at it's attachment to the hull. Here is a writeup about that: http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/rudder.html Good luck.
Cockpit scuppers?
It probably is the rudder packing Dave. But also check your cockpit scupper thruhulls and hose. Your thruhulls must be underwater all of the time. Obviously the hose and hose connections can leak. But someone once wrote about cracks in the glass thruhull, on the bottom where it cannot be seen. I dont't think the shaft strut bolts are that hard to check. Lie on the hot water tank with a flashlight and look down in that inspection port. If it leaks there it's a bear to fix in the water. Gene's site also has a good permanent repair for that. Good luck. Let us know and Merry Christmas!
It probably is the rudder packing Dave. But also check your cockpit scupper thruhulls and hose. Your thruhulls must be underwater all of the time. Obviously the hose and hose connections can leak. But someone once wrote about cracks in the glass thruhull, on the bottom where it cannot be seen. I dont't think the shaft strut bolts are that hard to check. Lie on the hot water tank with a flashlight and look down in that inspection port. If it leaks there it's a bear to fix in the water. Gene's site also has a good permanent repair for that. Good luck. Let us know and Merry Christmas!
My Scuppers where cracked...
at the hull and leaked water profusely. They are just glassed into the hull and a good step on them could crack them. I cut them out and put in 1-1/2" bronze thru hulls without valves, problem solved. They wouldn't leak unless I was hard under way under engine power. I too am way over weight with a waterline about 5" above standard height. My problems with the rudder have been excessive play where the rudder shaft log meets the hull. I've had the whole thing apart like Gene suggested and didn't have any water come in with the hose in place but the waterline is somewhere in between the packing seal and the lower hose clamp so if you pull the hose off in the water, be ready. The bronze seal is not adjustable, you put shaft log packing in it and tighten it down hard, I saw no evidence of an "O" ring on mine but that doesn't mean that can't be the case. The packing just compressed around the shaft and squeezed out making the whole assembly watertight. Been working fine ever since. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop WB4PAP
at the hull and leaked water profusely. They are just glassed into the hull and a good step on them could crack them. I cut them out and put in 1-1/2" bronze thru hulls without valves, problem solved. They wouldn't leak unless I was hard under way under engine power. I too am way over weight with a waterline about 5" above standard height. My problems with the rudder have been excessive play where the rudder shaft log meets the hull. I've had the whole thing apart like Gene suggested and didn't have any water come in with the hose in place but the waterline is somewhere in between the packing seal and the lower hose clamp so if you pull the hose off in the water, be ready. The bronze seal is not adjustable, you put shaft log packing in it and tighten it down hard, I saw no evidence of an "O" ring on mine but that doesn't mean that can't be the case. The packing just compressed around the shaft and squeezed out making the whole assembly watertight. Been working fine ever since. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop WB4PAP
In the water rudder repair
It's sort of like "in flight airplane repair" but it can be done. I glassed up my rudder post/bearing in the water after removing the rudder (see http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/rudder.html ). The problem is water coming in. YOu can do somethings with a little water coming in, but you can't work with resin in the water. If you take out the batteries, and anything else that is heavy in the back and move them to the v berth it helps. I also filled the big hold under the vberth bunk with water. Then, just to amke sure a passing boat didn't wake me, I ran a line from my jib sheet winch, ran it through the anchor roller, tied it to the dock and cranked the stern high and dry. Gene Gruender
It's sort of like "in flight airplane repair" but it can be done. I glassed up my rudder post/bearing in the water after removing the rudder (see http://www.geocities.com/rainbow_chaser.geo/rudder.html ). The problem is water coming in. YOu can do somethings with a little water coming in, but you can't work with resin in the water. If you take out the batteries, and anything else that is heavy in the back and move them to the v berth it helps. I also filled the big hold under the vberth bunk with water. Then, just to amke sure a passing boat didn't wake me, I ran a line from my jib sheet winch, ran it through the anchor roller, tied it to the dock and cranked the stern high and dry. Gene Gruender
Thanks
Thanks to all for the expert advice. (I was sort of hoping someone would offer to come out here and fix it for me.......oh well.) Short of that, I now have a comprehensive list of places to look, and hopefully, I'll be able to fix it in the water. Thanks all! Dave
Thanks to all for the expert advice. (I was sort of hoping someone would offer to come out here and fix it for me.......oh well.) Short of that, I now have a comprehensive list of places to look, and hopefully, I'll be able to fix it in the water. Thanks all! Dave
Rudder deflectors.
How many of you have NOT thrown those away and permanently sealed the holes? I kept mine, made new ones out of heavy rubber from stair tread. Every season I have to reseal them because, as Warren points out, those screws just go into an open cavity. A cavity that I have threatened to fill with something but have never gotten to. Why do I keep them? When I learned how fast the boat was(after some skepticism) I was afraid to change anything.
How many of you have NOT thrown those away and permanently sealed the holes? I kept mine, made new ones out of heavy rubber from stair tread. Every season I have to reseal them because, as Warren points out, those screws just go into an open cavity. A cavity that I have threatened to fill with something but have never gotten to. Why do I keep them? When I learned how fast the boat was(after some skepticism) I was afraid to change anything.
I still have them...
I know that they are flimsy at best but mine have never leaked. They have saved me a couple of times from crab pot lines getting wrapped around the top of the rudder shaft and the bouy stuck in the opening. Fortunately, the line didn't foul the prop and the bouy just pulled through the bottom of the boat as there was no place to lodge. So... I'll keep em till they give me a problem. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop WB4PAP
I know that they are flimsy at best but mine have never leaked. They have saved me a couple of times from crab pot lines getting wrapped around the top of the rudder shaft and the bouy stuck in the opening. Fortunately, the line didn't foul the prop and the bouy just pulled through the bottom of the boat as there was no place to lodge. So... I'll keep em till they give me a problem. Tom Hadoulias S/V Lite Chop WB4PAP
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