Rudder bearing on F38

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gamayun
Posts: 270
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2012 9:14 pm

Rudder bearing on F38

Post by gamayun »

My Freedom 38 is going in the yard next week for the first time since I bought the boat 3 years ago. I will be doing a lot of the work myself. Among the things that I think would be good to check are the rudder bearings. I've read everything posted on the forum about the rudder et al. It looks like the bearings might be from Tides Marine. Does anyone know which one? There are many different types listed. I'll also call Tides Marine tomorrow and ask them, but thought I'd get some input from this group first. Thanks :)
Kynntana, Freedom 38

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sailmon
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Re: Rudder bearing on F38

Post by sailmon »

Would be very interesting to hear what Tides has to say. I would also reach out to Paul Dennis at Warren River Boat Works. 401-245-6949.
Sailmon (Captain Bob Allenick)
S/V Her Diamond
1991 Freedom 38
Cleveland, OH

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gamayun
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Re: Rudder bearing on F38

Post by gamayun »

Well, I found out there are no bearings on the F38 (1988). I dropped the rudder and it is stocky though a little weird looking. There are 4 Zerk fittings on the rudder log (?) inside the boat and a couple of bolts that run through to hold the rudder post in place. One at the top where the emergency rudder fits onto and one below it where the quadrant fits around, which you might be able to see in the picture below just underneath the opening. I don't think I have any before pictures of inside but will try to get those when I clear the cockpit locker again. Here is a picture of the rudder after I cleaned all the grease off, what little was left. It turns nicely now :) There had been some pit corrosion on that lower band, but I checked with someone and he didn't think, if I kept it greased, that it would create a failure any time soon.
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Rudder dropped_4-4-16.jpg
Rudder dropped_4-4-16.jpg (54.59 KiB) Viewed 6664 times
Kynntana, Freedom 38

HalReynolds
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Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:07 pm
Location: Zephyr Cove, Nevada

Re: Rudder bearing on F38

Post by HalReynolds »

One question, what secures the rudder shaft (or assembly in our case) to the head of the Rudder Tube? I am working on the Edison Radial Drive Steering Disk. I would not want to take out the bolt and drop the rudder into the mud under the boat.

I own a Freedom 36, 1986 model. I presume it is very similar to the F38 as they just grafted on a sugar scoop to a F36 to get the extra two feet. I am seeing wobble in the Edson Radial Drive Steering disk of about 1/2 inch. The wobble happens in all orientations and the bolt that goes through the Radial Drive wobbles with the disk. I am guessing that the Radial Drive Disk will need to be taken off and machined down a bit to make it tight. But what about the bolt? Drill out to oversize and replace with a bigger one. Or fill the shaft with epoxy? Help!

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gamayun
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Re: Rudder bearing on F38

Post by gamayun »

If I recall correctly (amazing how quickly I forget to write this stuff down and no longer have recall on it), there is a single bolt that runs through the rudder post and holds the rudder stock. Then the quadrant clamps on top. I don't have a radial drive, but it looks like it would attach in a similar way. So these are two separate things and if it's the radial drive that's wobbling, you should be able to remove it without dropping the rudder, but I suggest you locate that single bolt through the rudder post just to be sure.
Kynntana, Freedom 38

HalReynolds
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:07 pm
Location: Zephyr Cove, Nevada

Re: Rudder bearing on F38

Post by HalReynolds »

Follow up to my question 4 years ago about the Edson Radial Drive Wheel on my 1986 Freedom 36. It had a slight wobble in all directions on the rudder shaft so I guessed the only thing keeping it from turning on the shaft was the bolt. This year (2020) I was finally able to address the issue. The boat was hauled for bottom paint at KKMI in Point Richmond, CA, and I had the yard put a jack-stand under the rudder to support it. I then removed the cables and the Drive Wheel. Fortunately none of the bolts were seized so it came off easily. What I found was an apparent factory defect. Edson specifies that the opening in the Drive Wheel be 5 thousandths undersized to get a clamp fit. My Drive Wheel was 45 thousandths oversize. The machining marks were still visible inside the Drive Wheel so I know it was not wear. I also found that the bottom of the Drive Wheel, which bears directly on the (Acetal?) bushing at the top of the rudder tube, was rough and had visible casting marks. KKMI machined the faces of the two halves of the Drive Wheel so that the inside dimension (in one direction anyway) was 5 thousandths under the dimension of the rubber shaft sleeve. That provided enough clamp to make the Drive Wheel engage the sleeve tightly. Now the bolt is no longer the only thing turning the rudder. They also machined the bottom of the Drive Wheel flat and smooth so that a good surface is bearing on the bushing. So, in answer to my original question 4 years ago, the Edson Radial Drive Wheel itself is actually what holds the rudder in place on my boat
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Rudder Tube wo Drive Wheel.jpg
Rudder Tube wo Drive Wheel.jpg (126.77 KiB) Viewed 3178 times
Drive Wheel Installed.jpg
Drive Wheel Installed.jpg (139.56 KiB) Viewed 3178 times

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