Rudder Bearings on Bavaria 47

[nigelmercier]

I've noticed some play in the rudder Bearings on my Bavaria 47, up and down as well as side to side. The Bavaria manual only gives a brief mention on checking the lower bearing for play when accepting delivery, but nothing else.

I'm sailing at the moment (with intermittent Internet access), so if anyone can find some info for me I'd be grateful.

 

[Norman_E]

Quote "The Bavaria manual only gives a brief mention on checking the lower bearing for play when accepting delivery"

I wonder why. Do they ship the boats with the rudder separate, for dealer fit?

As to your query, a very small amount of side to side play, say about 1mm, appears to be common, and no cause for concern. If the lower bearing is nylon it may exhibit play when the boat has dried out on the hard, but swell a little when in the water. In extreme cases nylon bearings can swell to the point that the steering becomes stiff.
Vertical play certainly needs to be investigated. Make sure that the quadrant is fully clamped to the shaft, and that the latter is not slipping downwards.

 

[chrisc]

Have you got the big nut (with two holes in it for a special tool)below the emergency steering boss ?if so it propobally needs tightening ,you will not have the special tool so a hammer and punch or similar ,-turn it a quarter turn then check again. not the high tech answer but it works for me.

 

[PeterGibbs]

There should be no vertical movement. Grounding is most unlikely to be the cause of this, more one of maintenance adjustment.

Get into the top bearing. Inspect from underneath that there is no obvious damage and the housing for the bearing is solidly in place - it should be glassed in. Next open the top and tighten the ring as far as possible without force, then back off half a turn or until rotation is smooth: yours may have a grub screw horizontally set in the ring which needs to be slacked off then firmly tightened AFTER the above procedure!

Horizontal movement can be attrributed to wear in the lower bearing / slack in the lower rudder stock housing. Not the quadrant. Check the stock housing for movement - it should be tight.

A slack lower bearing is not itself a problem, the bearings are made to accommodate some lateral movement. If excessive, the top bearing and quadrant must be slacked off and the rudder dropped before removing the bearing inner and replacing.

PWG

 

[Gypsy]

As mentioned by Chrisp the large circular ring nut around top of the rudder shaft at the the emergency tiller gives bearing adjustment. On my B44 the screw ring has a slit in one side which is clamped closed by a screw from the top surface as a lock against inadvertent loosening. You don't want to tighten the ring nut too much so there needs to be some type of lock. I suggest you mark the position before and after adjustment so you can monitor it as a safety factor.

I could not find a suitable "C" spanner with pins but used a chain style pipe wrench/grip with great success and no marks left behind. Loosen the screw, turn 90deg and tighten screw. Done.

 

[nigelmercier]

Thanks for all the replies. Bearing tightened, and a lot better. Will get it looked at when I'm back in Greece - no point in Croatia!