M26 Rudder slop

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1st Sail
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M26 Rudder slop

Post by 1st Sail »

The rudders on my M26 have considerable play with respect to the brackets. Just to clarify there is no play in the linkage. The spacing of the bracket is approx. 1/4 in wider than the rudder where the rudder bolt passes thru the rudder. Would you leave this slack to relieve momentary stress or shim to remove the play. Since my sailing skills are improving I am hitting hull speeds 5-6mph and can feel the stern walk some as the sails power up. I thought about shimming the space with either stainless washer or a custom made High molecular weight (HMW) nylon shim. I can machine the HMW to zero clearance but still retain the low friction properties of the HMW. Once the shims are added I'll check the parallax of the rudders.

There is considerable play in the wheel but that is a rack and pinion issue that will be delt with later.
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puggsy
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by puggsy »

I got rid of the slop in SEAHORSE's rudder/brackets by fitting clear plastic C/D discs...the spacers in the packets ....together with the same size discs cut from outdoor carpet...cost $0. They still raise and lower nicely because there is very little 'binding' between the rudders, plastic and carpet...AND ALL THE GAP SPACING IS TAKEN UP...Problem solved...and you can hardly notice the mod.
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by Highlander »

Think they may have changed the brkt's or made then narrower as my 08 rudder brkt's are very snug but then again I have Ida Sailor rudders ! but their is slop in the steering rack & pinion I will see one day if it can be taken out with cable adjustment !

Puggsy

Seeing were having a a major thunder storm with Tornado warnings right now , I am unwilling to climb into the boat to get you the Pedestal Guard measurements :D :D :D :o
every day I have been off work this Summer the weather has been the pits :evil: & they said it was going to be a hotter than normal summer , so far no heat , just damp & cold or raining too ! , but going up to 40C today with major storms :(

J
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by delevi »

Just crank down the nut until there is no play in the bracket. I use two per bolt, one standard and one nylon lock. You can get rid of most of the play and still be able to easily lower or haul up the rudders, however, it was still a bit more play than I like... so, I tightened even more until there's virtually no play. The compromise is that it takes more effort to raise and lower the ruddders i.e. having to pull harder on the lines.... a price I'm willing to pay for a tight steering system.

Happy sailing,
Leon
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by Hardcrab »

If you can make the shims as you indicate, then I'd do it and tighten snugly as Delvi posted.
I used some teflon thin sheet material, that I could cut with scissors, as big washers on each side of the rudder then cranked down on the nuts to remove play.
Raising and lowering is tighter, but not goofy tight just because of the teflon washers,IMHO.
Zero slop at the brackets.
Mine have worked well for 2 1/2 years now.
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by Finn »

I had a small sheet of 1/8" aluminum just laying around. I cut out four 3"x3" pieces, drilled a hole in the center, sanded them well and placed one piece on each side of the rudders. This has worked for 20 months.
Finn
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by puggsy »

Hi Finn,,,how do you prevent the alum. plates for wearing into the fibreglass of the rudders themselves...just a thought?
The basic idea is sound, but that is why I chose replaceable carpet...no wear on the main component...the rudders.
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by Finn »

Puggsy, I have not noticed any wear yet and the saltwater has not eaten away at the aluminum either so far. There is still a very little space between the individual pieces. I did consider that the brackets that were designed to hold the rudders would also have worn marks into the rudders if I had left them as they came. I'm still wondering what the factory designers were thinking when they designed the rudders with over 1/4" slop.

Finn
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by griffin40m »

I have cut the rubber inner tube of a tyre the size of a CD and inserted 1 on either side of the rudder with plenty of silicon grease lub, all the slack was taken out. Havent tested the boat yet as it is still on land for the winter.
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by James V »

I have not put my rudders down all the way and it increased the play, Also, Go below and tightened the stearling linkage almost snug. That helps, You will still get 3 to 6 inchs of play.
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Re: Rudder slop

Post by Rick Westlake »

griffin40m wrote:I have cut the rubber inner tube of a tyre the size of a CD and inserted 1 on either side of the rudder with plenty of silicon grease lub, all the slack was taken out. Havent tested the boat yet as it is still on land for the winter.
I've had similar problems on my Mac 19 and my 26X. Some of the slop is in the rudder brackets, some in the steering linkage. Adding shims to the rudder helped a lot on the X.

I fear the only "cure" would be a 26S/C/D, with tiller steering ... and no stand-up headroom; for my purposes, "the cure is worse than the disease!" (No offense to Mac Classic owners - I'm speaking of MY purposes.)
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by c130king »

I have been searching old posts for info on this topic. I now feel that I have "too much" slop/play/looseness in my rudders as they sit in the rudder brackets.

So I have a question regarding the rudder bolt for those of you that have tightened the nut on this bolt. Is there plenty of threads to tighten it down and squeeze in the brackets to eliminate the slop? Any tricks to this or is it pretty straight forward? No problem removing the nut, tightening the nut or reusing the nut or the bolt.

For those that made spacers or liners. Are they really the size of CDs...3-4 inches across? I like the idea of the teflon material to reduce wear on the rudders and hopefully ease the raising/lowering of the rudders.

Thanks.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by markh1f »

Jim,

Just did mine a couple of weeks ago, picked up some over-sized nylon washers at Home Depot that seemed to do the trick.

Mark
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by c130king »

Mark,

You got any pics? And what size? I will go to HD tomorrow and drive out to my boat on Saturday.

Thanks,
Jim
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Re: M26 Rudder slop

Post by markh1f »

Jim,
Sorry no pics but they are Nylon Flat Washers 1-1/4x.516x1/16''. If you can find a bigger outside diameter take it but these seem to do the job.

Mark
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