Rudder Question...

Your boat is fine.

The one that fell out was not because it was not tight but because the retaining screw on the top of the rudder was not installed.

Tim

How do you know if it had more play? Did you put a DTI on it?

push the rudder up and then adjust the packing gland and your play will be gone.

Pushing the rudder up won't do anything for you. If the packing isn't leaking it doesn't need tightened.

No.

The packing does not hold the rudder up. It may hold it up for a few minutes but once you move the rudder a few times it falls back down to where the steering arm is holding it. Thats why there is a brass washer in between the tiller arm and the rudder housing. The packing is a seal, not a bearing surface.

Until you have a scientific way of measuring it...saying it is loose is useless.

79nautique wrote: funny how mine always had a gap between the tiller arm and the top washer, guess I did a piss poor job adjusting it or maybe not.

Mine does too.

The washer above the tiller arm keeps the rudder from falling out if the tiller is loose on the rudder.

The brass washer below the tiller arm keeps the arm from scraping on the rudder housing.

The seal is correctly tightened when it leaks approx 1 drip per minute, not when the rudder is tight. Tightening the packing beyond that will just make the packing wear out faster and make the rudder harder to turn.

Go ahead an tighten the packing down....it makes no difference to me.

after about one more page of back and forth and you should be fine. You may want to specify if your play is vertical or horizontal.

emccallum wrote: after about one more page of back and forth and you should be fine. You may want to specify if your play is vertical or horizontal.

Just wait.... '79 is pulling his gas tank right now to take a look.   

Pete-

The point is that the packing is only a seal. It does not retain the rudder shaft. Additionally, it is not the bearing surface for the rudder shaft. Tightening packing will not fix the problem of a worn out rudder housing or rudder shaft.

If Matt really thinks he has a problem with his rudder being loose he needs to remove the rudder, check the bore diameter and then check the shaft diameter on the rudder shaft. I don't know what the tolerance is on them but I'm sure CC does.

Personally....I doubt he has a problem.

I will make sure to tighten the rudder packing to where it does not leak, but not beyond that.

Tim

8122pbrainard wrote: Tim, I feel Mikes shaft on the sloppy side. You can go under and play on the shaft.

so does the port ware evenly? does it ware more at the top? does it ware more at the bottom? does it ware equally along the bore?


When under load what are the contact points between the ruder shaft and the ports bore? What effect does the tiller arm have on these contact points.

behindpropeller wrote: emccallum wrote: after about one more page of back and forth and you should be fine. You may want to specify if your play is vertical or horizontal. Just wait.... '79 is pulling his gas tank right now to take a look.

first off you don't have to remove the tank to get to it on a 70's or most 80's model either, well maybe you do, I never did, only needed to remove the removable pannel in the floor, rear seat and rear pannel behind the seat.

Yea the rope seals main job is to seal but it also performs another function as well, but hey never did much right on the old boat any way, but had a huge gap above the washer that rested on top of the packing gland and the bottom of the tiller arm. The washer on top of the tiller arm is flush with the top the arm since the key is only as thick as the arm is to start with so the only place to create a gap is below the tiller arm and if that washer below the tiller arm is what is holding up the rudder because it's flush with the bottom of the tiller arm and the top of the packing gland then you really don't have jack adjust correctly and are taking on much more water than you should be taking on. But what do I know.