This could be the anatomy of a perfect disaster...for real...
A few weeks ago, my rudder started showing a little gap so I got the boat off the water to readjust the bearings, which is normal and done once a year, just to make sure all is OK..
The year check consists of adjusting the rudder shaft bearings, as the shaft is aluminium, and exposed to high stress when we sail fast and things move and contract, so basically you insert a shim between the rudder tube and the rudder quadrant, pulling the rudder up, so it jams more into the tappered bearing. Off course it helps if you understand the shaft is conical, so the further up it goes the tighter it becomes. There is a teflon wear disk in that area.
Anyway, have look at how a small $2.00 part can cost you a lot of aggravation and the need to buy a new rudder, with one of these babies selling at over $6500.00
This is a side view of my rudder, basically its a CF tube with a cross reinforcement, and inside it there is a teflon tube, with a stop ring in the middle.
The bearings as the one bellow are 2, one is tappered and installed bellow, with a collar that goes up against the stops in the middle of the tube, the upper one is not conical as the shaft is straight further up.
Because the rudder floats, its always trying to enter the tube, where the lower bearing holds it, see bellow
by using a collar that goes between the bearing and the stop.
YES..IT'S TRUE!!!!!
I am very very irritatated and pissed off....the ingenious worker assembled the rudder and forgot to install the collar between the lower bearing and the stops!!!. So we went sailing, blowing 25 knots out there...
The screws on the lower bearing held all they could..at 12 knots almost lost the rudder!!! it jammed against the hull and vibrated sideways over a foot...talk about stress...thank God the builder really did reinforce the ruddder tube otherwise....I don't even want to imagine if the tube broke the hull, water getting in, thru a 10 inch tube...disater...for sure...
because of a $2.00 part and an idiot!!!! He left the collar out and to help threw it away in the garbage, thinking it was useless part lying around...we were lucky to salvage it, because during the holidays the garbage pick up+s were not done...an ugly sight...
To help this mess, when the upper bearing moved up, it jammed inside, and we were only able to remove it, by hammering it down...
CONSEQUENCE???
LOOK BELLOW it broke....
So now I am waiting for a new bearing to be made and sent to me....they ordered the PVC block today and said they would be machining a new bearing for me...(yes..these are not stock).
I am really pissed off...
Sorry for venting here guys.....DRY AGAIN!!!
Alex