Albin Ballad/Comfort 30 skeg hung rudder

[Slycat]

Hi all,

Wondering if any of you know how the rudder stock is held in place at the bottom on a Comfort 30? Assuming it'll be similar to an Albin Ballad.

You can see in the pic that the stock goes through the smaller piece with the three screws.. there's a little bit of movement there forwards and back of the stock within that holder, possibly because the stock itself is slightly worn.

I'm trying to work out if its a bearing or just bare pole through the fiberglass or something else!

Many thanks

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Ah, a fine vessel (well I would say that having a Ballad...).

Have a look here: http://balladklubben.se/balladexchange/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3572 I would suggest contacting Bob, an American Ballad owner who knows his stuff. He suggests a bearing.

My rudder is full of water Literally pours out of it when she lifts out - my late father, who was a shipwright, always used to slap me down when I sucked my teeth at it and said to stop worrying and go sailing . That said, next winter I'll likely drop it out, cut it open, and reseal it all.

What are you looking to do with yours?

 

[Slycat]

The section with the screws was lose and causing a lot of movement so I tightened that up. After I noticed the slight movement and was wondering what the best solution was. All seems fine, just would be nice to have it nice and tight!

I really have no idea how you'd get a bearing in there tho... the stock goes right through and back into the rudder.... how would it ever come off!?

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Its a good question - one I'll need answering too in time for next winter! I responded to that thread to ask it, see if they have any photos...

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Peter, a Canadian Ballad aficionado, posts:

Hi Mark,
IIRC, there are two bolts going through the bottom "shoe" to slide it off the shaft. The "shoe" contains the bottom bushing. There are also bushings at the hull bottom and at the top where the tiller is attached. Then it's just a matter of removing the tiller fitting on the rudder head and the whole thing should slide down and out the bottom. If you do it with the boat in the water make sure you tie a rope to it.
On my Ballad, when I reinstalled the rudder, all three bushings did not line up perfectly, so I had to persuade the top end of the shaft over a bit to go through the top one .. not a problem. Also, if you are on the hard you might have to dig a hole under the bottom of the rudder to be able to get it down all the way.
I'll dig out some pictures tonight.

If he manages to post some photos, I'll chuck them here too.

HTH

 

[MagicalArmchair]

Hello Slycat,

Check out the following: http://www.balladklubben.se/balladexchange/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3572&start=10

http://www.coldwateryachtsales.ca/resources/tamure29.JPG.opt436x327o0,0s436x327.JPG[/url]

This is a shot of the skeg base with the "shoe" removed.
[IMG]http://www3.telus.net/sailing/skeg.jpg

This is a shot of the upper part of the skeg, showing the location of the middle bushing.

Here is a shot of the rudder removed.

The shoe is a pretty crude looking piece of kit, but it's strong and does the job: just a short piece of SS tubing to hold the bushing, with two vertical "ears" welded to it that sandwich the end of the skeg, and three bolt holes which are threaded on one side so no nuts are needed.