Dropping Rudder how to's on an Ericson 27 ???

The latest "first" for me is I need to drop my rudder to remove the shaft and then insert the new one. (Long story short is that I have not been able to install shaft, key and coupling adequately for safe and dependable operation. So I made the decision to haul and do this on the hard). I suppose I could hacksaw the prop into little pieces, but my first inclination was to drop the rudder since 1) there is so little distance between hull, strut and rudder. And most importantly I'll need to drop the rudder to get the new shaft in. Even without the prop we could not coax the shaft past the rudder without damaging the rudder.

I feel as though I'm about to start on another slippery slope (my wife is losing patience with these slopes btw ). Here are my questions and issues I'd like your advice on (and I always accept unsolicited advice).

• How to drop the rudder safely (for me and the boat). I have included a picture below with arrows to the bolts it seems I need to loosen to free the rudder. I hope the cables for the wheel can remain untouched.
• What problems should I be anticipating given this boat clearly was not loved in it's earlier life (it is now). I've read on the forum suggests undoing the bolts might be a problem. I'm really concerned this simple job will turn complex and I'm hoping whatever needs to be done I can learn and do
• What preventative checks and regular upkeep on the rudder (and steering for that matter) should I do since the boat is out and I'm working on this system anyway.

Thanks,
Jay

Looks pretty good

From the looks of that quadrant and bolts you shouldn't have too difficult a time getting things apart. Doesn't appear to be badly corroded. In fact it looks in very good condition. Support the bottom of the rudder. Remove the tiller cap. Remove the through bolt connecting the quadrant to the rudder post. Loosen the steering cables and the bolts holding the quadrant halves together. Better still, remove the cables entirely so they're not in the way. With the quadrant bolts loose drive a small wedge between the halves to separate them and break the connection to the rudder post. You should then be able to lower the rudder.

Afrakes said:

You should then be able to lower the rudder.

Click to expand...

Um... don't you mean "the rudder will then drop free and crush whatever is underneath it"? IIRC, it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 pounds, and nothing holds it up except those two through-bolts...

That's why I said "Support the bottom of the rudder"

If the rudder is water saturated it will be quite heavy. I did this every year with my 27 and I could easily handle the weight. I forgot to mention the rudder packing gland, which may or may not have to be loosened when removing the rudder. It will definitely have to be loosened and repacked upon reinstallation.

Looks like you fellows have a bronze quadrant. Mine is aluminum, which poses a problem with those stainless bolts. Took me a long time, with PB blaster and an "impact hammer" (me tapping the bolts with a hammer).

This is a valuable experience, though. Should the spade rudder get bent badly (whale? tree trunk? Corten steel container?) we may have to drop the rudder at sea to get disaster steering to work.

Rudder dropping rudder follow up questions

Thanks for all the help. I have some follow up questions based on your comments.

• is loosening the cables imperative? It doesn't look like they are playing a role in holding the rudder up.
• Is the thru bolt correctly id'd in the picture below? Someone mentioned 2 thru bolts. I only see one. And could that possible be the end of it on the other side? Is the last thing to be loosened the thru bolt?
• Which is the deck flange? is that underneath the quadrant and not visible until disassembled? is it bedded with butyl tape or 4200?
• is the gland going to be right under the quadrant?

I've looked for plans for my E27 but haven't come across them. I've read and will re-read this thread and Christian's blog on the topic. I hope my situation isn't as complicated as all that! mainly because the bank reserves are depleting.

Make it easy on yourself

Removing the cables gets them out of your way. They are under tension. You're going the have to loosen them at the least. You should be able to remove only the outer nut on the cables. That way when you reassemble the cables they will return to their original position. There is only one through bolt on the quadrant. Four other bolts clamp the two halves together around the post. Packing gland will be found under the quadrant. What is under there is a process of discovery.

What's the plate in the background?

Thanks, Al. I'm feeling more confident about this little project now. I have been reading and learning about bushings etc too but I'll worry about that as things emerge. Any guesses what that plate is in the background? I'm wondering if it's something I need to open up and check.

It looks to me like the mystery plate is a fixed roller that follows the inner curve of the quadrant and acts as a rudder stop.

If so, elegant. Other rigs have big clunking posts that collide with stops at max rudder deflection, and they tend to get bent by "previous owners" who while reversing at 6 knots let go of the wheel in order to take a selfie.

Thanks

Just a quick thanks to all for your help. I plan on working on this project this weekend. I would say something like "barring any unforeseen issues" but of course that's the one certainty. But here's hoping that all goes as planned and I don't need to cut or drill or spray pb blaster for days. My new shaft should be in Tuesday or Wednesday, so this weekend success is critical!
Jay

Rudder drop follow up questions

I've included a few pictures for your opinions. I dropped the rudder and like Al said "it was a process of discovery." I discovered that the rudder must not have been dropped for decades, I needed PB Blaster to work it out. I also discovered that there is no rudder packing gland and there seems no place for it, but I'm not sure.

My question is, should there be more than a rudder sleeve (right term?) to keep water from coming in my boat; doesn't there have to be a place to put packing? Could it be that the boat was designed to have a sleeve that goes above the water line as the way to keep water from sinking the boat? Or is something really wrong here? I have noticed water leaking from the deck plate bolts into the boat; however, that was from rain I'm certain. And I have stopped that dripping through a process of fixing things, rebedding, ...

Here are some pictures. You can see right down into the cabin (behind engine and next to quarter berth) with the deck plate removed. I plan on rebedding without the gobs of silicone. Plan on using butyl tape. Also plan on fixing water damage in core around deck plate from the old water leak. And I am in the process of fixing the damage on the hull in one of the pictures below. Not sure why this happened but I assume I just need to repair with epoxy to make sure water does not intrude. ???

Thanks as always. Jay
ps: i'm not sure why by my pictures seem to be showing up in my post twice, at least to me they are.

>>>ps: i'm not sure why by my pictures seem to be showing up in my post twice, at least to me they are.<<<

The doubled photos are a fault in the vBulletin forum software. They promise to cure the glitch in the next iteration. Not that this drives me nuts, or anything like that.

From Sean, the forum owner:

Version 4.2.4 is in development right now - and vBulletin will be releasing it soon. Version 4.2.4 will correct the in-line image problem we've seen, and it will remove the attachment blowout that 4.2.3 causes. The publisher is under a lot of pressure on this - so as soon as it's released and we can test it, then we'll go to the new version.

Anyhow, I'm sure E27 owners will soon answer your real questions.

Success

Now that wasn't too bad was it? Is your deck plate on the same level as your cockpit floor? If so then that is above the water line. I take it that you have a bridge which supports your pedestal above the location of the quadrant.

Absolutely wonderful not to have a blankety-blank rudder tube packing gland!