[Rhodes22-list] Rudder problems

[Saroj]

Thanks Bill and Michael.

<<by non swivel, do you mean frozen or just very hard? Did the painters take
it all apart when they painted it?>>
>>>>>Don't know for sure until Monday.  Doubt it though. The tiller was off
already -- pretty sure they just removed the bolt that holds and swivels the
rudder. All of it was painted, including the part that goes inside the
casing.  Before I took it all apart, it would move about 30 degrees on its
swivel, but it was impossible to get all the way down.

Michael, you suggested sanding the rudder down which makes sense except that
it would remove all the paint and I have no idea what it is made out of
(i.e. is it sandable).  It seems much to curvy and heavy to be wood.  It
also has had cracks in it along the center seam which I have had epoxied and
glassed over.  As I mentioned there are further cracks where the rope holes
are which I didn't realize until Friday.  Water poured out of one of these
when we took the rudder off the boat.  Can't be good for the inside of it.
Maybe that's why it is so heavy.

One source of the problem is that the boat WAS in Chicago - damp; then in
Arizona - dry, then in Montana - dry; now in Virginia.  However one would
think that the spacers would be expanded now in a damp climate, not the
other way around.

Before I took the rudder entirely apart, I first loosened the swivel bolt,
still too stiff; then I loosened the lower bolts on the back spacer, still
stiff; then gradually worked my way up.  At no point was I able to get the
rudder to move freely enuf to be able to pull it into the up position or
fully extended by anything but brute force.

I'm pretty sure the casing is made of aluminum, but since I don't know what
grey pvc looks like I'll have another look at it today and try to determine
that for sure.

The spacers appear to be pressure-treated pine or some other soft wood with
no apparent coating on them.

I realize that in my thoughts about using washers to create additional
space, I was assuming that all washers are stainless steel.  Now I'm
wondering if there aren't aluminum washers.  I'll check around today.

It bothers me a little that the wood spacers are completely uncoated.  I
think my first step ought to be to varnish the spacers.  4 coats or so will
build up their thickness and may be enough to solve the problem.  I will
probably have to replace the bolts as they appear to be "just" long enuf
now.

If the rudder still does not swing freely, I'll see about washers.  I'll
also inspect the rudder more closely today and see if it is warped.  If so,
I'll see about getting a new one from Stan and maybe some new spacers as
well.

Saroj


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Berner" <bberner at optonline.net>
To: "'Saroj'" <saroj at pathfind.net>; "'The Rhodes 22 mail list'"
<rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 10:45 PM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Rudder problems


> The bread of the rudder sandwich is called the casing. The rudder, tiller,
> and spacers make up the meat.
>
> Are you sure your rudder casing is aluminum.
>
> I became much more familiar with mine this Spring than I had ever hoped
to,
> and it is made of 1/2" sheet PVC. It's a medium grey plastic material.
The
> spacers are teak on mine.
>
> You very well might need some sort of additional spacers if the teak has
> shrunk down to less than the thickness of the rudder &/or tiller.  I had
> this problem when I sanded and then Varnished my spacers, after building a
> new casing.  My boat club managed to destroy my old one, while the boat
was
> on the trailer early this spring.
>
> I've been messing with adjusting the tightness of the various bolts on
mine
> to try to get the right amount of free fall/tension on my rudder and
tiller.
>
> Washers between the casing and the spacers should work fine, as well. If
the
> casing is indeed aluminum, just use some, Roger help me here, dielectric
> greasw(?) between the casing and the washers.  I seem to recall using
> something that I think was called Tek-Gel when mating two different types
of
> metal to avoid galvanic corrosion.
>
> BB
>
> Bill Berner
> 191 South Broadway
> Hastings on Hudson, NY  10706
>
> v 914 478 2896
> f 914 478 3856
> e BBerner at optonline.net
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Saroj
> Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 9:10 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Rudder problems
>
> Well, my boat finally was launched on Friday with new bottom paint and
other
> minor repairs completed.  I have two problems with the rudder.  It does
not
> swivel any longer.  I loosened every bolt and finally took some out
> altogether.  It appears that either the bottom piece is warped or the
pieces
> of wood that act as separators for the aluminum housing have shrunk to a
> size smaller than the part that can be raised.  (I hope someone can tell
me
> the proper names for these things).  I thought I could perhaps insert a
> washer between the wood spacer and the aluminum part, but what about two
> different types of metal touching.  I also considered fiberglassing the
wood
> which would add thickness and also make it waterproof.  Or I could cut
more
> pieces of wood slightly larger thus providing more space.  Any ideas?
>
> Also there are small openings inside the holes where the line goes to pull
> up on the rudder.  Water pours out of these after it has been in the
water.
> Can't be good for it to get all that water in there.  Should I fill these
> openings with epoxy filler to keep the water out?
>
> I'm eager to sail (if it ever stops raining here), but can't until the
> rudder can be swiveled.
>
> Hoping to get this fixed by Thursday to go out over the weekend on the
boat.
>
> Saroj
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