Rudder slack or loose

[Marc Villemaire]

I recently purchased a hunter 27 1979, still the boat is in very good shape, i notice that when we pull-out the boat out of the water, the rudder post as some play, so you can move it back in forth by 1/8 of an inche.I would like to know, how this thing is mount before i took everything apart,and how it can be fix.Regard'sMarc Canada

 

[Terry]

Marc, our 1989 H28 had about that much play...

when we purchased it. When we sold it three years later the play was still the same. In both cases the surveyor said it was within tolerance. Our surveyor told me that if I wanted to reduce the play to insert a hand trimmed piece of teflon sleeve in the lower end. Otherwise, just keep an eye on it. All you do is drop the rudder a few inches while on the hard, cut a thin piece of teflon strap that will fit around the rudder post and insert it into the rudder tube to act as a sleeve. The post on our H28 rides in a plastic tube and will wear over time.If your boat is still on the hard have a surveyor friend look at it. If you use the same one that looked at your boat before you purchased it they may not charge. Did the surveyor notice the play? Terry

 

[Rick Thompson]

I have a Hunter 310 and the play is about the same

Both my surveyor and the owner of the boat yard said this was well within specification.