Re: [Cal_Boats] Quick Question Cal 39 Rudder Shaft Leaking [2 Attachments]

Please remove me from ur list. I don't own a boat Subject:Re: [Cal_Boats] Quick Question Cal 39 Rudder Shaft Leaking [2 Attachments] From :"Michael D md… [at] yahoo.com [Cal_Boats]" Date :Thu, 28-May-2015 13:57 To :"Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" CC : I don't know if this will help, but while googling for answers (I also have a loose rudder on Magic), I found this Rudder | Two At Sea I email the boat yard in New Zealand. They were kind enough to send me more information on their repair. They fabricated the new bearing from "Adcomp". See the attached photo and sketch. Magic has a June 22 date for a haulout for new bottom paint. I hope to get the rudder squared away too. I have looked at Jeffa, but their products look to be a bit over-the-top for my needs. Michael Rudder | Two At Sea May, 2013 while hauled out in Tauranga, New Zealand View on www.twoatsea.com Preview by Yahoo From: "Greg vanDalen no… [at] yahoo.com [Cal_Boats]" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 4:14! PM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Quick Question Cal 39 Rudder Shaft Leaking Paul, When we had ours out, the upper bearing was loose but the bottom was tight enough that it didn't warrent replacing it. Top one wasn't too hard to make (I used black delrin). Greg From: "pw… [at] aol.com [Cal_Boats]" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2015 12:59 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Quick Question Cal 39 Rudder Shaft Leaking Wayne - was your shaft leaking or just loose? I just called the yard and told the owner I forwarded your email to him (minus the cost issues LOL) and he asked if yours was leaking or loose for some reason. I guess if it's just leaking he's thinking he can just replace the packing maybe. Mine loose and leaking. Thanks again! Paul From: Wayne Gillikin wa… [at] yahoo.com [Cal_Boats] <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> To: Cal_Boats <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Thu, May 28, 2015 1:22 pm Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Cal 39 Rudder Shaft Leaking [1 Attachment] [ Attachment(s) from Wayne Gillikin included below] There is a packing gland at the top of the tube that holds the rudder post. I replaced the packing in 2013. Not a big deal but requires removing the rudder. Its quick work once the rudder is out. If the bearing is bad that's a whole different can of worms. First, there is an upper and lower bearing. You need to figure out which is giving you trouble. The lower bearing is a tube between the rudder post and the outer tube. I had that replaced by the yard when I bought the boat some 14 years ago. They had a hell of a time finding right-sized bearing material. Naturally they charged me for every failure. They finally had to use something that had the correct OD and ream it out till they achieved the correct ID. I think it finally worked because they ran out of ways to make the project even more expensive. Sorry, but I don't have any bright ideas on the lower bearing replacement. I'm sure you have seen the Pepsi Bottle solution and the thickened epoxy solution but I have yet to find anyone who has actually applied them. The upper bearing is, on my boat, made of some type of composite material that is bolted to the underside of the stern s eat where the rudder post can be exposed to accept the emergency tiller. The original construction used carriage bolts to hold the upper bearing in place. The bolts were neither slotted nor flush to the deck. That meant that they couldn't be tightened enough to hold the upper bearing solidly and wouldn't allow the access port to be properly sealed to the deck. The result was water intrusion and rotten coring. I saw the upper bearing as being kinda important to the overall stability of the rudder post so I rebuilt it about 6 years or so ago. First, I removed as much of the rotten core as I could using various homemade tools and allowed the remainder of the core to dry very well. Then I filled the void with thickened epoxy using a caulking gun to inject the thickened epoxy. I found a water soluble material that was sold in a caulking gun tube. I don't recall what the material was but I got it at Home Depot and it was cheap as I recall. Anyway, I cleaned the tube and cut it down probably by half, filled it with the thickened epoxy and used the nozzle to squirt the epoxy deep into the void filling the void as completely as possible and let it set up. Then I took a 1/4" thick piece of aluminium plate and drilled and counter-sunk to match the bearing and accept standard slotted FH machine screws the same size as the old carriage bolts. I reinstalled the bearing with the aluminium on the top of the aft seat. That made the bearing quite secure and backed by aluminium plate. Finally I drilled and tapped holes in the aluminium plate to accept the machine screws that hold the access port in place. Every thing is flush, sealed, and sturdy. I looked for pix of that project bu t can't locate any. If you have questions give a call. On Thursday, May 28, 2015 10:53 AM, " pw… [at] aol.com [Cal_Boats]" < Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > wrote: My rudder shaft is leaking pretty bad as in almost filling the bilge after 20 min of motoring and a 1.5 hr sail in 5-10 kt winds. Has anyone replaced the bearing and or packing (if there is one) and if so what was involved? Did you have the yard do it or can it be a DIY project? There is something, I assume it is the packing (?) that is movable on the shaft from the outside between the top of the rudder and the hull where there is about 3/4" of the shaft exposed. I presume that should be stuck in the hull. The shaft is also starting to make a bit of noise in turn so something is amiss to be sure. Below is a pic of the shaft from the inside. Not much to see really but it gives you an idea. The leaking area is below the what you can see here and the shaft goes all the way to the helm seat. Thanks in advance for any help/advice. Paul West Adventure Kwest '80 Cal 39