Bavaria Rudder Bearings

bob234

bob234

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Living on board - 8 years in Med, now in Caribbean
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I have tried this on the Liveaboard site as well but here might be a more appropriaye place to ask this question.

I'm clutching at straws here but here goes....

It seems I need to replace both my upper and lower bearings. The sooner the better. We have been bashing our way 1500 miles westwards from Turkey and are now in Spain.

Unfortunately the problem has only reared it's ugly head in the last week and now it's August - erm, when the Bavaria factory in Germany shuts for it's holidays. It seems the bearing factory in Czech is also shut until 20 Aug and then it's 3 weeks to get new ones made.

So, does anybody know of anyone, anywhere, who might hold a little stock of Bavaria rudder bearings? (unlikely I know). My boat is a yr 2000 built Bavaria 47 Ocean (which makes sourcing more difficult as this model has not been made for some years).

Here's hoping for a miracle!

Cheers,

Bob
_______
 
exfinnsailor said:
A quick gooooooooogle gave this

Seems like a bit of a problem
Click to expand...

Hi ExFinn,

Thanks for that.

Perhaps I should have said that I had already done the same thing on Google and found the same people. We sailed back from Cartagene to Torrevieja to see them. An English guy called Dennis Clayton - very helpful.

Unfortunately he doesn't carry any stock because there are too many bearings and it's through him that I've established that both the bearing manufacturer and Bavaria Yachts are in summer shutdown. Oh, and the crane driver here is on holiday as well!

Hence my email to see if anyone knows anybody else.

Thanks anyway. Much appreciated

Cheers,

Bob
 
mickywillis said:
Speak to BAV34 , he's done his and I made a spanner for him to undo the locknut at the top of the rudder assembly.
Click to expand...

Thanks Micky,

I might do that. Unfortunately it's not the job itself that's the problem but sourcing new bearings. As the factory is shut I can't find out if my bearings are the same as on any other Bavarias.

I have emails out to Bavaria dealers in Spain, Portugal and the UK but I thought I would ask on here if anybody knew of anyone.

We are waiting to be lifted in a few days to establish whether the bearing housings are OK. If not then mucho dinero and mucho more delay, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

Bob
 
Are you sure you need a new bearing? I have a 38 Ocean that had very stiff steering. If you (or your chosen contractor) are careful (and maybe a bit lucky) the old bearing can be removed intact and reamed as necessary inside and out to free the steering.

It seems to be the bottom bearing only that is the culprit. To my knowledge no-one has had a problem with the upper bearing.

Good luck
 
bob234 said:
I have tried this on the Liveaboard site as well but here might be a more appropriaye place to ask this question.

I'm clutching at straws here but here goes....

It seems I need to replace both my upper and lower bearings. The sooner the better. We have been bashing our way 1500 miles westwards from Turkey and are now in Spain.

Bob
_______
Click to expand...

Actually, you don't need to replace the nylon bearings unless you have a lot of slap through wear - highly unlikely.

I take it you have chosen to replace your bearings because the steering is stiffening beyond acceptance?

If so, just drop the rudder and ream out the lower bearing by 2mm with a flapper wheel on a drill (the top one is not affected by water generated swelling) apply water repellant lubricant and replace. Done in a day. The heavy work is raising the rudder again.

If you need more info PM me for a detailed run through.

PS. I put in a new bearing - just went the same way as the old!

Good luck,

PWG
Bavaria 38 Ocean 1998
 
PeterGibbs said:
Actually, you don't need to replace the nylon bearings unless you have a lot of slap through wear - highly unlikely.

I take it you have chosen to replace your bearings because the steering is stiffening beyond acceptance?

If so, just drop the rudder and ream out the lower bearing by 2mm with a flapper wheel on a drill (the top one is not affected by water generated swelling) apply water repellant lubricant and replace. Done in a day. The heavy work is raising the rudder again.

If you need more info PM me for a detailed run through.

PS. I put in a new bearing - just went the same way as the old!

Good luck,

PWG
Bavaria 38 Ocean 1998
Click to expand...

This is also MY reading of the problem. I had this happen on a previous boat and cured it by refinishing the lower delrin bush as described. My current boat IS a Bavaria but my rudder problem with this is the rusting and therefore breaking up of the rudder stock boot seal which I have in hand for next winter and Bavaria are standing by to supply a replacement via the dealer. My bearings are fine after ten years.

Chas
 
also check for corroded bearing housing ?

from sailboatowners USA website:

Rudder bearing
Recently I had a problem with my sterring being very difficult to turn the wheel due to resistance. This, I assumed to be a bearing issue because it came on gradually over last summers season. Over the winter I replaced the top rudder bearing (not cheap from Bavaria)only to find that the problem was corrosion that was behind the rudder bearing housing, causing the bearing to compress around the bearing tightly. The corrosion was removed and now the wheel can be turned with one finger. The reason I'm letting everyone know, is due to the fact no one I had talked to at Bavaria dealerships or communication with Bavaria eluded to this potential common problem. Save your money on a German bearing and clean your rudder bearing housing every other couple of haul outs. One rudder nut removal and loosening the quadrant allows the rudder to drop and be removed (obviously not a job while in the water)The problem is usually with the bearing underwater only. Mike
 
PeterGibbs said:
Actually, you don't need to replace the nylon bearings unless you have a lot of slap through wear - highly unlikely.

I take it you have chosen to replace your bearings because the steering is stiffening beyond acceptance?

If so, just drop the rudder and ream out the lower bearing by 2mm with a flapper wheel on a drill (the top one is not affected by water generated swelling) apply water repellant lubricant and replace. Done in a day. The heavy work is raising the rudder again.

If you need more info PM me for a detailed run through.

PS. I put in a new bearing - just went the same way as the old!

Good luck,

PWG
Bavaria 38 Ocean 1998
Click to expand...

Thanks to everybody for their comments.

To, Tony S,
Thanks for that and, Yes, I've tried Kim at Clipper. Very helpful. They do have some unused bearings they have accumulated over the years which are unlabelled so she doesn't know whether they have ones for our boat. We are lifting on Monday for a look (delay whilst crane man was on hols). If we can remove the old one(s) without damaging them I can take the appropriate measurements and check with her.

To Playtime, Peter Gibbs, Charles Swallow, eagleswing,
Thanks to you all. I have never had a problem with stiff steering which I know is the more common problem. I have excessive rudder slap/movement. The winter before last I had work done after some movement and the upper bearing was replaced in Turkey (a surprise to me as well - I expected it to be the lower one to be the problem as did the yard who did the work). The lower one was said to be fine at the time. I should have just insisted it be changed at the time anyway of course.

On lift out I hope to establish whether it is the bearing or damage to the housing (a rather more expensive problem to resolve).

Thanks again to all for the suggestions.

Bob
 
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