1973 Ericson 32 Rudder shaft leaks, bearing replacement

Our 1973 Ericson 32 (originally with tiller steering, now with an Edson wheel) is leaking increasing amounts of water from the top of the rudder shaft. We've spent a fair amount of money having the local marina repack the seal at the top of the shaft, as well as (this spring prior to launch) dropping the rudder and repacking the shaft with waterproof grease. Both efforts have proved ineffective; this last weekend sail saw us running the bilge pump regularly to keep up with the leak.:0

I'm thinking the marina maintenance probably should have replaced the bearing in the shaft and any attendant seals along with it. Anyone with experience with this issue? Are there nylon or deldrin seals, along with the bearing, that wear out over time? If I can find help, is this a job I could tackle? (I'm tired of paying others for work that doesn't solve problems!) Thanks!

My '69 still has the tiller so I'm not sure of everything going on with your setup. On my boat the top of the rudder shaft is well above the waterline, so if it's leaking it's about time to think about abandoning ship.

If your shaft seal is leaking then it needs to be adjusted. I would encourage you to get familiar with how that seal and the engine shaft seal work, because you never know when it'll need adjustment.

Rudder Shaft Leak

We have a 30+ and I'm not sure if the rudder shaft construction is the same as on your 32.
We had a bad leak and after a lot of searching discovered there was a crack in the wall of the rudder shaft. We had the boat hauled out and the shaft/post re-glassed. We haven't had a leak since.

Good luck - speaking from experience, a leak can be very unsettling.

Peter S
Bayview, ID

I've had a similar problem, years ago. Turned out the gland broke loose from the rudder tube. see here:http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?5788-rudder-gland-replace-amp-glass

Our rudder packing box....

Our 1971 E32 rudder packing gland uses the same packing material as the prop shaft. My manual specifies the lengths, which I can look up if you still need this info. It was pretty easy to do myself, the greatest difficulty was fitting my 6'4 self into the starboard locker. My memory is that the only tool I needed was a 7/16" wrench.

Akavishon said:

I've had a similar problem, years ago. Turned out the gland broke loose from the rudder tube. see here:http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?5788-rudder-gland-replace-amp-glass

Click to expand...

I just saw your diagram of the rudder area and wanted to thank you. I am visual and that helped me understand the area much better. This is a task I am going to attempt this Spring before launching as the boat I just acquired has a leaking rudder issue. Where did you find that diagram!???

Also,