How to remove the rudder on Trident 24?

[NealB]

Anyone know?

I bought the boat this summer, when she was afloat, and want to make up a new rudder this winter.

Anyone done this before?

Does it need a lot space underneath, or can it be swung out horizontally?

(The Trident 24 owners' web site doesn't seem to be working).

Thanks.

 

[Seajet]

Neal,

ask Old Harry of these forums, he should know !

Andy

 

[NealB]

Thanks Andy, I'll give him a try.

 

[NealB]

Well....I have certainly been in touch with the right man.

Thanks again to Seajet for the tipoff, and to oldharry for a very prompt and extremely helpful reply.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Care to share?

 

[NealB]

Care to share?

Job half done.

The short story is:

get boat high enough off the ground.

back off a few turns on the nut that holds the tiller.

whack nut with hammer.

remove nut completely.

rudder assembly falls out the bearings to the ground.

Of course, take some common sense safety precautions (eg so the rudder descends under control, for example).

So....removal was dead easy. Took less than ten minutes.

I've heard not all Trident 24 owners have been so lucky.

 

[oldharry]

Yep: that big nut holding the tiller on is the key to the whole thing. If it comes undone at sea you are in bad trouble, as that is all that holds the rudder in! A rudderless Trident is a wild ride! Ashore you need to have the boat quite a long way off the ground as it drops out vertically. Neal B managed it but most of us either drop it out on the hard in to 2 - 3 m of water at HW for retrieval later, or drop it while the boat is on the crane or lift.

Bad design? Some would say so, but properly tightened it wont shift, and the tiller gets too loose to be able to steer properly long before it comes off.

 

[bob26]

"(The Trident 24 owners' web site doesn't seem to be working).

Thanks.[/QUOTE]"

I'm afraid we managed to break the old website.

But we have a brand new one for 2015.

www.trident24.com

 

[Robin]

Anyone know?

I bought the boat this summer, when she was afloat, and want to make up a new rudder this winter.

Anyone done this before?

Does it need a lot space underneath, or can it be swung out horizontally?



Good luck!

Thanks.

(The Trident 24 owners' web site doesn't seem to be working).

My memory is not like it was ( I owned a triple keel trident in the late '60s early '70's but the rudder is mild steel and the blade part itself may be bolted via a flange to flange connection to the shaft and therefore separable there. Otherwise it is a boatlift/crane lift for long enough to drop the whole ensemble clear once the tiller and tiller shaft head block is removed. Otherwise if the ground ashore is cooperative, dig a pit to lower it into. the hole depth needs to be enough to allow for the blade height and the shaft from the hull hole to the tiller plus an inch or two of extra wriggle room Is it a fin, centreboard or triple keel model? I guess the fin will have slightly more clearance underneath the rudder if the boat is stored ashore stood on it's keel. Perhaps you could consider raising the boat in stages onto raised blocks like railway sleepers, using car jack(s) and/or large wooden wedges. How will you deal with new bearings

 

[bob26]

(The Trident 24 owners' web site doesn't seem to be working).

My memory is not like it was ( I owned a triple keel trident in the late '60s early '70's but the rudder is mild steel and the blade part itself may be bolted via a flange to flange connection to the shaft and therefore separable there. Otherwise it is a boatlift/crane lift for long enough to drop the whole ensemble clear once the tiller and tiller shaft head block is removed. Otherwise if the ground ashore is cooperative, dig a pit to lower it into. the hole depth needs to be enough to allow for the blade height and the shaft from the hull hole to the tiller plus an inch or two of extra wriggle room Is it a fin, centreboard or triple keel model? I guess the fin will have slightly more clearance underneath the rudder if the boat is stored ashore stood on it's keel. Perhaps you could consider raising the boat in stages onto raised blocks like railway sleepers, using car jack(s) and/or large wooden wedges. How will you deal with new bearings

Your memory is very good but like mine not perfect Robin. There is a flange modification such as you describe which allows the rudder to be unbolted but as far as I know only one Trident owner ever carried it out. It is illustrated in the Trident Owners Manual supplied free to all members of the Trident Owners Association. Details of the Manual here: http://trident24.com/the-toa/trident-owners-manual/

Otherwise, as you say, the boat has to be lifted or floated high enough to allow the full length of the rudder shaft to drop out clear the bottom of the rudder tube - a procedure necessary not only to service the rudder and bearings but also to remove the prop shaft aftwards. Again details in the TO Manual as well as various experiences with replacing the original tuphnol bearings - the most important of which is to AVOID NYLON bearings at all costs. They absorb water, swell and soon your rudder is locked solid. PTFE and Acrylic have been used successfully. The bottom bearing is the most difficult to remove but some Trident Owners simply drive a new one down the rudder tube on top of the old one.

 

[Robin]

Your memory is very good but like mine not perfect Robin. There is a flange modification such as you describe which allows the rudder to be unbolted but as far as I know only one Trident owner ever carried it out. It is illustrated in the Trident Owners Manual supplied free to all members of the Trident Owners Association. Details of the Manual here: http://trident24.com/the-toa/trident-owners-manual/

Otherwise, as you say, the boat has to be lifted or floated high enough to allow the full length of the rudder shaft to drop out clear the bottom of the rudder tube - a procedure necessary not only to service the rudder and bearings but also to remove the prop shaft aftwards. Again details in the TO Manual as well as various experiences with replacing the original tuphnol bearings - the most important of which is to AVOID NYLON bearings at all costs. They absorb water, swell and soon your rudder is locked solid. PTFE and Acrylic have been used successfully. The bottom bearing is the most difficult to remove but some Trident Owners simply drive a new one down the rudder tube on top of the old one.

I used 'Delrin' ( not sure exactly what it was but it was recommended back then and the engineer's workshop at the company where I worked had some in exchange for a bottle of something peaty) for bearings on boats in the past, it had low water absorption and I believe you pre-compensated for that in the dimensions on machining.