Bavaria rudder drop for inspection

[John w]

Hi All
My Bavaria 36 cruiser is based in Largs yacht haven Largs & I need to drop the rudder a foot to inspect the top part of the rudder, due to hi moisture readings.
Looking for a engineer to take on the job for me, Can anyone suggest a capable engineer who could do this for me Please.
I have tried 360 Boat services, GPW marine & Marine composites Fairlie both busy until the end of May.
I am happy to pay travel expenses if they are not from the general area.
At this point just need to drop for inspection nothing further.

Thanks
John

 

[yotter]

John,
Meadowside at Kip may be able to help if they are willing to travel.
Angus

 

[Ian_Edwards]

Boatcraft at Clyde Marina (Ardrossan)
They seem be replacing and repairing rudders all the time.
But they are always busy.

 

[dunedin]

I fear you may.need to apply DIY skills. Lots of capable people but all flat out at this time of year. I know somebody else who has been round all the same people with a similar request. Also looking at late May.
Hope you find a solution.

 

[Neeves]

Is it that difficult?

Surely someone here has done it before.

Rudders are surprisingly heavy, so need some caution.

I'm not sure why you think dropping a foot will be enough, plan on the need to remove the rudder - or drop it fully.

I don't know Bavaria rudders but did drop our rudders, Lightwave 38, a few times

Jonathan

 

[sawduster]

Assuming you want to drop it to look at where the shaft enters the blade as this is a common place for water to enter the blade due to flexing, then dropping it a foot should be fine. I did this last winter on symptoms of dampness lower in the blade to find it was definitely water entering from there. Sealed it with CT1 as best I could then took it off in the slings when the boat came out the water last autumn and took it home to dry out and repair it properly, then back on in the slings before going in the water a few weeks ago. We also used it to as an opportunity to replace the bearings and lower bearing housing while the rudder was out. There are a number of good videos of youtube for how people have dealt with wet rudder blades.

For the dropping without removal we did it with two people, one to remove the quadrant etc in the boat, then the other to lower it to rest of a cushioned bit of wood once free. I don't know how Bavaria do their rudders but there will typically be a few horizontal bolts through the shaft to retain it vertically, then the quadrant is also bolted through and clamped to it. There is likely to be some corrosion so freeing the bolts and quadrant can be tricky, and you'll also want to reduce the tension in the steering cables to make the quadrant easier to remove. I was able to refit it myself by using a car jack to slowly raise, adjust, raise, adjust and so on until it was seated and then I rebolted it all on the boat.