Rudder flange bolts weeping

[JWA]

Hi
When we purchased Curve of Time, our surveyor noted weeping rudder flange bolts. We got under the cockpit this weekend and got a look, and can see the bolts are covered with white material, and a steady drip is coming from the flange. The surveyor recommended “re-sealing” the flange. Anyone know if it’s advisable to just unbolt the flange, slide the flange and packing gland up the rudder shaft and re-bed the flange? Or is it just time to disconnect the quadrant, drop the rudder and replace the flange and gland?

Thanks! Scott

Pic of the flange/gland…

[john stevenson]

Scott,

I assume the flange you are referring to is the stuffing box on the rudder post (http://www.svsarah.com/Sarah/Images/Rudder%20SB%206.JPG).  It is nearly identical to the stuffing box on the prop shaft, if that hasn't been replaced with a drip-less seal.  

You should be able to tighten or repack the stuffing box without removing any other equipment, depending on what else you have put in the aft lazarette and how small and flexible you are to work in that space.  

I usually have to hire a boatyard munchkin for that as I have a NL genset in the lazarette, and I am a wide-body type.  Or in the case of this picture (http://www.svsarah.com/Sarah/Images/Rudder%20SB%20Martin%201.JPG), I got a wee welsh friend to do the deed.  He did have to disconnect one of the steering cable sheaves in order to reach the stuffing box with a long wrench.

Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.com
Sarah's Blog

[JWA]

Thanks very much for the reply John!

We are going to re-pack the stuffing box for sure. The issue I’m concerned with is the actual mounting flange for the stuffing box (gland) to the hull, and what is apparently some seeping from around the mounting bolts. Can’t see any actual water coming through with it on the hard, but the bolts are covered with white corrosion, and our surveyor advised “resealing” the flange. There is definitely a slow drip coming into the bilge section fwd of the engine when she’s in the water, so I am hoping that is from the gland needing re-packing.

I took “resealing” to mean lifting/removing the stuffing box, and re-bedding it to the hull around the mounting bolts coming up through the hull. I’m wondering how likely it is that there is serious corrosion of the mounting bolts, and the possibility of a sudden failure and catastrophic leakage with the rudder under load. Obviously, I’d rather not have to drop the rudder and re-glass the whole area, which would include the great fun of disconnecting the quadrant and auto pilot ram, etc…

Just wondering what other people’s experience has been with the flange and mounting bolts getting corroded and whether they re-bedded the flange, or just re-did the whole assembly with new stuffing box/bolts/glass.

Luckily, I have a munchkin-size wife, and she can climb right down in the lazarette! I can get in there upside down myself, but it’s not very comfortable.

Thanks again!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 8 months ago by JWA.

[john stevenson]

​I would tighten the nut on the stuffing box and clean up everything ​so you can monitor the fitting to see if it is really leaking around the base, before going radical.  Slow leaks through the packing are common.  Does your stuffing box look worse than mine in the picture I linked in my previous post?  That was before the first time the packing nut was tightened.  That took care of the problem for several years, when I had the packing replaced.  The repacking was several years ago, and it is probably leaking again.

Regards,
John Stevenson
http://www.svsarah.com
Sarah's Blog

[JWA]

Hi John
Can’t really see the stuffing box in your pic, but ours is not bad at all really, other than the white corrosion on the flange bolts themselves. Pic of our stuffing box is attached.
I am inclined as well to just re-pack the gland, clean up the corrosion and keep an eye on it. We are also completely redoing the bonding through the boat, so that may keep it under control going forward. I’ve seen a few pics of people’s flange bolts after being removed from the hull and being completely corroded down to nothing where hidden inside the hull. That got me worrying a bit about whether to do the big effort or not!

Thanks!

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[RichCarter]

Are you sure its not a result of water seeping past the packing gland and wetting the top of the bolts?

Rich

—– Original Message —–

[JWA]

Hi Rich
That could well be the case. I was wondering if anyone had actually had this condition with their rudder system, and had went ahead and rebuilt the whole thing from scratch. Like I said, I am just concerned about hidden corrosion with the flange bolts under the surface, and a failure of the whole upper rudder attachment. Probably over-thinking it because of what our surveyor said about “resealing” the flange bolts, but I figured other 424 owners may have dealt with this.

Thanks for the reply!
Scott

[Chuck Ruble]

I removed and repacked the rudder tube due to the same leaking from under the interior flange. The studs that the flange is held down with are glassed into the hull. It is very important you properly clean and lube these before removing the nuts.
If the flange is in fact allowing water past it, it shouldn’t be that difficult to separate from the hull as the water has compromised the seal.
You do need to remove the rudder to do this, along with the upper support cross beam.
Careful, the rudder is heavy, the stock is solid stainless.
Not a terribly difficult job but time consuming.

Chuck

[Author]

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