Stiff rudder
Following more than two years of no sailing, but with the boat in the water, I finally got the time to start sailing again. Unfortunately the rudder has become very stiff and it takes considerable effort to turn the wheel. Took her out for 3 hours hoping that it will loosen up but I did not feel any real improvement. It was fine before and never had any problems with it.

Any thoughts, suggestions or remedies…

Thanks

Constantine
Alexandra S&S 38/53

Hi Constantine,

I am not an expert on rudder installations, even with respect to the 43 despite having just built and installed a new rudder under the expert supervision of the Professor, but could offer suggestions about where the tightness could come from.  The Professor will have the informed opinion.

I suspect that the packing gland is not leaking; if this is true, you could try to loosen the packing nut slightly and see if that helps out. 

 Have you greased your cables and checked that the cables are in good shape.

If you still have the tightness, you could try to remove the cables from the quadrant and turn the quadrant by hand; this trial would help determine where the problem is. 

I did not inspect the chain and sprocket and suspect that that could also be the culprit.

My steering is much tighter than it was before I installed the new rudder - but I like it that way and, of course, I cannnot compare the feel of mine to yours.

Good luck and hope you solve your problems quickly.

Chris 43/003

As Chris suggest, disconnect the cables; this will help determine if the problem is at the rudder, quadrant or pedestal.

Ours was over tight a couple of years back; fortunately it came with a "squeak" which pointed to the bushings in the pedestal for the wheel.  (No mice were harmed!!)

We took this apart and filed the bush out a bit; all works lovely again.

(Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the material used is suseptable to expansion when exposed to water?)

Cheers

Adrian

Dear Adrian
It appears the bushings can sometimes swell when treated with lubes containing strong solvents. The change takes place slowly.
Unfortunately unable to name specific products.
Kind regards
Lars

Constantine -

I wonder if there's any chance the rudder just accumulated a lot of growth which is now binding in the tight spots at the leading edge where the skeg is close? Have you hauled her or gone for a swim to have a look? Just a thought, but I suppose it could happen and if it did the nice part is you could get it back to order pretty easily. Let us know what you find, and best of luck.

Fair Winds,

Geoff

Corazon, 411 #41

Dear Chris, Adrian, Professor and Geoff, apologies for the delayed thanks but I had to take an unscheduled trip and will not be back in Athens until next week. Alexandra in on the hard so I will follow up on all your excellent advise as soon as I get back and will let you know the outcome
Many thanks again,
Constantine

Well, the rudder was fine! It just needed a good cable and pulley cleaning and greasing, and at the same time I cleaned and lubed the pedestal chain drive. Rudder appears to move freely and feels  back to normal. Will do a final check once back in the water but I do not expect any more stiffness.

Chris, Adrian, Geoff and Professor, many thanks again for your help.

Constantine

Hi Constantine,

Very happy to hear the good news!  Happy sailing.

Chris