Rudder Post leakage

[Froggy]

Hi all,

I have a '93 Albin 28 TE and it has jsut started seeping water around the rudder post. Has anyone else had this prolem and,if so, how did you fix it? I'm hauling her in a week or so for the seasonadn assuming I have to pull the rudder box and re-seal.

Carl

[Capt Paul]

Carl,

On my 28 TE (1999) the rudder post comes through a stuffing box. Sounds like it's time to change the stuffing material. Doing it during a haul out makes it allot easier. I have never done it so hopefully some one else in group can explain how.

Paul

[Froggy]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the feedback. Actually,the problem is that it is leaking around the bedding and not the packing of the box. It looks a bit complicated so I'm windering whether anyone has had it done.

Carl

[Mariner]

Haven't done it before, but it sounds like it's kind of the normal deal:
Disassemble, Inspect, Repair, Reassemble

Make sure your yard knows that you may need to drop the rudder when they are blocking. They need to leave the area below the rudder free, and set the boat high enough for you to drop it. Hopefully you don't have to actually drop it, but you never know. Thinking about the way the skeg and rudder are engineered on these boats, I can see where this would represent a challenge for them. The boat needs to be supported on the skeg and keel, so you may even end up having to strap it up when you drop the rudder.

[gerygarcia]

Froggy

This happened to me two seasons ago. My mechanic said somewhere down the line the rudder shaft was bent and there was a slow leak.

Over the winter layup they had a whole new piece machined and replaced.
It wasn't a major deal to do, just time to make the new piece and replace and repack.
If you need to know how much it cost to replace, let me know, I can dig up the reciepts.

[Saltdog]

I have a 2001 with a box. There is always water in the bilge under the helm. I have assumed it is the rudder post as I can see a little water seeping.

Should the bilge be dry or is it normal to always have a little water in it?

Thanks

TS

[Capt Paul]

There always tends to be a little water towards the cabin area in my bilge. When moored this is the low spot where everything accumulates. I think most of it seeps in when I clean the boat. Some salt water also gets in under ruff running conditions. You really shouldn't have that much coming in from your rudder post.

That's my opinion anyway.

Paul