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Does my rudder look bent?


toddthelineman

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Thanks. Its very worn also. I was repacking it today in hopes of eliminating the wiggle and improving the steering. I didn't assume it was bent because there's no apparent damage, but the steering has been crap since the day I bought the boat. Now I wonder if I can get away with buying just the rudder, or if I need to tackle the housing as well. I'd prefer not to

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There aren't bushings... It had the wax rope packing. I replaced it with gfo and slightly lowered the rudder to get off of the worn part of the shaft so that I can use the boat until I source a new rudder. I also discovered that the steering bracket that holds the ball on the sheath of the steering cable doesn't properly fit the ball, and the ball was not adjusted on the threaded section of the sheath so my rudder was turning more one way than the other. I've driven three newer Malibu's that all handled like a jet ski. Mine handles like a tour bus. Can't wait to get it sorted out!

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oh ya.....I'd say so....what did you hit?

I'm pretty sure I bought the boat this way. Which could be upsetting, but honestly I'm glad I didn't do it. I should have it replaced by next weekend so I'm prety excited to see how much better my handling will be.

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Nah, that's not bent. You are supposed to have that gap between the shaft and the rudder to improve hydrodynamics. The crappy steering is probably from not waxing your hull.

That's what I'll tell everyone!

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I actually was able to adjust the height of the rudder to move the bent part below the port (which appears to be undamaged) and it now steers much better. No binding, very easy. I also entered the adjustment of the cable relative to the position of the prop. I'm still going to replace it, but I wonder how much improvement I can get.

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some rudder adjustments are pretty important so watch what you are doing.

i've read on this board of rudders sucked into the screw while in reverse.

that makes for an expensive aw-shucks.

I'm probably lucky that it didn't happen. As far as I can tell the rudder's rotation is limited only by the travel of the steering cable. I never thought to check when I bought the boat, but the rudder turned further one way than the other. The steering wheel was straight though.

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