Rudder Issues

Guys, Well, this winter was finally the killer for my rudder. It's had water in it for years, but with mild winters it wasn't too much a problem. I did the usual drilling holes and hoping it would drain, not! Other people drop the rudder and take it home for the winter. Not possible, I have a 29 that was converted to a wheel, and I ain't small enough to get in the lazerette and take it apart, much less every winter. Foss Foam can provide one in about three weeks, so that part is easy. Where do I get new bearings for this project? I have toyed with going back to a tiller, but I find I actually like the wheel. I don't race, (my boat!), I have found it's easy get a novice to take the wheel, it's something familiar. Any advice, suggestions are welcome. Thanks, David Dobbs, Cal 29 411 --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

I'm not familiar with the 29, but I know of 'no' Cals with rudder bearings. The shaft is typically in the tube, with the tube as the bearing.. With a stock wheel you might have bearings...on second thought, or maybe it is simply a seal to keep water out. Usually these seals are on either side of the quadrant piece or whatever the arm is configured as. If it is a standard machined part, then the manufacturers name is probably stamped on it. Be very careful with brand new rudders, they do not like hot sun, and will blister in a few minutes on a hot day... best to keep them covered with something so they are always in the shade. From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of david dobbs Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 2:37 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: [Cal_Boats] Rudder Issues Guys, Well, this winter was finally the killer for my rudder. It's had water in it for years, but with mild winters it wasn't too much a problem. I did the usual drilling holes and hoping it would drain, not! Other people drop the rudder and take it home for the winter. Not possible, I have a 29 that was converted to a wheel, and I ain't small enough to get in the lazerette and take it apart, much less every winter. Foss Foam can provide one in about three weeks, so that part is easy. Where do I get new bearings for this project? I have toyed with going back to a tiller, but I find I actually like the wheel. I don't race, (my boat!), I have found it's easy get a novice to take the wheel, it's something familiar. Any advice, suggestions are welcome. Thanks, David Dobbs, Cal 29 411 Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>

David, The CAL 2-29 does not have bearings on the rudder post. The post just hangs by a bolt that keeps it from falling thru the shaft. When you get excessive rudder movement (clunk, clunk in my case), you can either shim it with teflon, cut up 2 liter bottle or wax the rudder shaft real good and fill it in with epoxy. When the epoxy sets, the wax is suppose to keep the epoxy from adhereing to the rudder post. My rudder clunked around a bit in lite air, but not enough to try and fill it with epoxy. I use the 2 liter bottle trick. Both Olson 30's I race on, use an aluminum beer can (Boddington's). They change it out often. Randy CAL 2-29 Out Patient Channel Islands david dobbs <tm… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: Guys, Well, this winter was finally the killer for my rudder. It's had water in it for years, but with mild winters it wasn't too much a problem. I did the usual drilling holes and hoping it would drain, not! Other people drop the rudder and take it home for the winter. Not possible, I have a 29 that was converted to a wheel, and I ain't small enough to get in the lazerette and take it apart, much less every winter. Foss Foam can provide one in about three weeks, so that part is easy. Where do I get new bearings for this project? I have toyed with going back to a tiller, but I find I actually like the wheel. I don't race, (my boat!), I have found it's easy get a novice to take the wheel, it's something familiar. Any advice, suggestions are welcome. Thanks, David Dobbs, Cal 29 411 --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

Before anybody injects epoxy into their rudder tube to make a new bearing, please carefully read Gougeon Bros articles about the potential problems and proper prep necessary to make it successful. It works great, but you can really create a nightmare if you are careless. The epoxy has no give at all and the rudder post is likely to be worn a bit out of round. Then it's impossible to turn the darn thing. I had a scary experience, but worked it out OK. Beer can or milk bottle shims seem the better idea, in retrospect. Wilkie

Also had a CAL 25 guy here in Annapolis seize up the rudder shaft doing the same thing with epoxy. I'm trying to remember what the creative method was for getting the damn thing out. I like the 2 liter coke bottle solution. Cheers Charlie From: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com [mailto:Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Wilkie Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 1:12 PM To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [Cal_Boats] Rudder Issues (Randy-David) Before anybody injects epoxy into their rudder tube to make a new bearing, please carefully read Gougeon Bros articles about the potential problems and proper prep necessary to make it successful. It works great, but you can really create a nightmare if you are careless. The epoxy has no give at all and the rudder post is likely to be worn a bit out of round. Then it's impossible to turn the darn thing. I had a scary experience, but worked it out OK. Beer can or milk bottle shims seem the better idea, in retrospect. Wilkie Yahoo! Groups Links

Randy Alcorn wrote: > > When you get excessive rudder movement (clunk, clunk in my case), you > can either shim it with teflon, cut up 2 liter bottle or wax the > rudder shaft real good and fill it in with epoxy. When the epoxy sets, > the wax is suppose to keep the epoxy from adhereing to the rudder post. Just remember what the people said before when they tried this--you must be careful, because some posts are worn out-of-round, and when you do the epoxy-and-graphite trick, the oval post is fixed in an oval hole and won't turn. The Gougeon Bros. web site or their publications should have suggestions for a suitable release material to keep the post from sticking to the epoxy. Chris Campbell >