I pulled my N30U rudder this week, and after completely removing the quadrant (properly the drive wheel) and the top of stock nut and washers, I had still to pull down on the rudder while wiggling it back and forth to get it to descend. The original reason for removing it was (a) to have a longer keyway milled into the stock to support my autopilot, and (b) to investigate why rotating the rudder was harder than it is on other Nonsuch 30s that happen to be on the hard nearby.
Some additional photos can be found in an earlier query about the quadrant / drive wheel itself, in Steering quadrant mounting height - #12 by NeilErskine .
After removal I noted damage to both the inside of the rudder tube and to the length of rudder stock that can bear on the rudder tube (properly separated by a thin layer of grease). I have had the boat for two years, and although I had used a grease gun on the stock grease cup’s fitting, I found when I set a simple zerk fitting to replace it, that the grease at the back of the cup was petrified. That no lubricant had been supplied for some time was apparent when I pulled the rudder.
I would be very interested in any Hinterhoeller drawings particular to the N30 / N30U models that show anything about the rudder tube at all. The INA site has a drawing for the N26 but I don’t believe that my N30U Amadeus is made exactly the same way. I’m also interested in any thoughts about the required clearances between tube and stock on a Nonsuch, and in ideas on how to repair the rudder tube itself.
All these pictures are after I polished any residues off with a rag and mineral spirits. First off lets view the damage to the rudder stock itself, starting with the section at the top of the rudder tube:
The shiny section ends exactly where the tube ends. Note that the keyway for the drive wheel extends more than an inch into the tube. It was full of debris; old grease perhaps, mixed with shavings and erosions from the drive wheel which was bearing directly on the tube top. There are predominantly horizontal striations here, and although some could be marks from lathe turnings, they seem overall more numerous, irregular and marked, however, than on the dull section of the stock which presumably was characteristic of the whole surface at manufacture. There are some striations however that are not horizontal.
At the other end of the bearing surface the surface damage is more obvious; the next picture is left right reversed from the previous; the greenish blue on the right is the top of the rudder. I tried very hard to polish the greyish and black deposits off with my rag, but was unsuccessful.
These scratches are deeper, more numerous and clearly diagonal. Some seem to reflect more than one point in time, as scratches intersect others.
Now the inside of the rudder tube seen from the outside with a light inside the hull. Again, this is after polishing the inside of the tube with rags soaked in mineral spirits wrapped thickly around a stick. The rags came out black, but by no means choked with particulates:
The stock I think can be polished smooth without too much effort and cost. I am not sure at all what to do about the tube itself. It looks to my eye to be laid up fibreglass that is losing its surface layer of resin. I have an N26 drawing saying its tube is nylon. This does not look to me to be deteriorating as would solid nylon. Comments and ideas solicited and welcomed.
