[cntryboy95608]

ok pearson 26 in salt water !!
the pearson is known for having rudders fall off! and just on time i go to move the boat about 2oo miles and boom about 50 foot from the dock i started feeling the rudder get stiff!( i didnt hit anything) i went back to the dock and put on my dive gear got in the water and could see notheing! nor could i see anything from in the boat? any ideas before i pay money out i dont have to do a hall out!

 

[AllThumbs]

I don't know much about those but maybe there is a grease nipple or some other way it can be lubricated?

 

[desert rat]

I would look at the alignment of the rudder shaft and the lower bushings, just get an idea of what might have gone wrong.

 

[tempest]

Check out this page..

Buying a P26 click on the photo of the rudder to enlarge.

And this: http://dan.pfeiffer.net/p26/rudder.htm

 

[cntryboy95608]

i looked at it before it has no lube points! (Hmmmm) well i guess it is a hall out! as much as i didnt want to it is looking that way! unless i here something soon i have no choice!

 

[CalebD]

From looking at the diagram posted by Tempest of the rudder & rudder shaft assembly on the P26 it looks like you could have worn out bushings that could somehow make turning the rudder difficult.
Or maybe no bushings? Could even be just grit in there.
Try some kind of lubrication. If that works great, if not you have just a little more to clean up.

 

[Jaramaz]

Before you take any action you should know how your rudder & bearings are designed!

For sailing boats the two most used bearing designs are bronze or plastic bushings.
Bronze - a special kind of bronze, sometimes called bearing bronze as it has a "oily" feel - shall be regularly greased. There is usually a nipple somewhere for this. When it becomes old, the rudder easily wobbles when sailing.

Plastic -most often Delrin- is water lubricated. Shall not be greased - that could even harm the bushing. When getting old, the bushing swells due to increased water in the plastic. The swell results in a stiff rudder.

If a stiff rudder, and particularly with a delrin bushing, one should fix that ASAP! If unlucky the rudder may be impossible to dismount without destroying rudder and maybe areas around it (google and you will find).

Most likely you have to haul to inspect and fix the issue. To replace a (most often lower) bushing is more easy than one may think.

/J

 

[cntryboy95608]

do you know how to remove them will i need a tool or do they just drop out ? also i am thinking to just change the rudder once out due to bad press on it! do you think it would be hard to just make a rudder or should i just buy one
thanks for your input!

 

[JimsCAL]

Rudder bushings on the P26 are very easy to change. Did it several times when I owned one. Basically just a cylinder with a raised lip on the end. As long as the previous owner didn't put something like 5200 on it before it was replaced last, it should just pull out. Strange it would suddenly get stiff, so something changed. One issue with the rudder is that the shaft will wear in the area of the bearings and new bearings will then no longer take up the slack. Another is that if the bearing has been turning with the rudder in the tube, the tube can be worn. I saw a P30 owned by a fellow club member where this had been happening to the point that the fiberglass was almost worn completely through.

 

[cntryboy95608]

do you think it can be done in the water? or do i need to do a fast haul or a haul to stand on the hard?

 

[Jaramaz]

It is an easy operation, but not that easy. You have to haul the boat, the complete operation will take some few days:

1. Remove the rudder. Often easy. Maybe include some digging -that is then the worst part of all (I do not know how the rudder keel look). If there is a need for digging then you might position the boat over a hole or something where you can drop the rudder so no digging is needed.
2. remove the bushing. Sometimes it is glued with epoxy, Sikeflex or something - in that case use a chiesel. The old bushing is usually rather brittle so it will fall of in pieces.
3. Get a new bushing. Either buy a new standard bushing to your boat - I get the impression that there is a market for such - or have it made. For the latter case measure very accurately the rudder stock and the hole in the boat, and find someone who delivers rudder bushings.
4. install the new bushing. Many glue it with thickened epoxy, then it will not move around, and it work well together with the hull. And be tight as well!
(I have used epoxy, recommend that. See to that you do not get any epoxy on the inside of the bushing!).
5. re-install the rudder.

6. Launch and sail.

Part (3) could take some time, for posting or contacting someone who does the work. If you glue the bushing it will take some time for the glue to harden - let it harden really really.

Do not hurry with this job. Buy some beers instead, enjoy the work and sunshine - and beer.

Last time I did this it was winter, ground was frozen rock solid. Had to dig a 1 m deep hole. That was not fun.

/J

 

[JimsCAL]

You can certainly do an inspection in the water. If you need to drop the rudder, then you will need to haul the boat. The rudder on the P26 should turn very easily. You can even turn it through 360 degs with little effort. And when backing up, the rudder has a mind of its own and wants to rip itself out of your hands. If it doesn't act like that, something is not right and you need to find out what it is before your 200 mile trip.

 

[Seadog_8626]

It is an easy operation, but not that easy. You have to haul the boat, the complete operation will take some few days:

1. Remove the rudder. Often easy. Maybe include some digging -that is then the worst part of all (I do not know how the rudder keel look). If there is a need for digging then you might position the boat over a hole or something where you can drop the rudder so no digging is needed.
2. remove the bushing. Sometimes it is glued with epoxy, Sikeflex or something - in that case use a chiesel. The old bushing is usually rather brittle so it will fall of in pieces.
3. Get a new bushing. Either buy a new standard bushing to your boat - I get the impression that there is a market for such - or have it made. For the latter case measure very accurately the rudder stock and the hole in the boat, and find someone who delivers rudder bushings.
4. install the new bushing. Many glue it with thickened epoxy, then it will not move around, and it work well together with the hull. And be tight as well!
(I have used epoxy, recommend that. See to that you do not get any epoxy on the inside of the bushing!).
5. re-install the rudder.

6. Launch and sail.

Part (3) could take some time, for posting or contacting someone who does the work. If you glue the bushing it will take some time for the glue to harden - let it harden really really.

Do not hurry with this job. Buy some beers instead, enjoy the work and sunshine - and beer.

Last time I did this it was winter, ground was frozen rock solid. Had to dig a 1 m deep hole. That was not fun.

/J

What should the rudder stock to bushing clearance be?