marykhubby
Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2007
- RO Number
- 25522
- Messages
- 584
Need some insight... '82 Carver 3607AC
Figured I would post here first, hoping some Carver owners would be most familiar with what I am describing below... Kenny, please jump in.
I have been chasing a small vibration above 2000-2500 RPMs. I have paid big to have all the logical stuff done in the past years but still never got it all (shafts dialed, props refurb, aligned, rudder support bases replaced, etc). I was snooping around under the cabinet where the Port side steering linkage is hidden, and noticed some sawdust around the flange that holds the top of the rudder shaft to a horizontal support board (the flange directly under the steering arm keyed to the shaft). When I went to check the tightness on the 3 flange screws they just spun freely. So I decided to drop the rudder and check things out more closely.
1) The port half of the horizontal support board had been replaced sometime before I bought the boat.
2) The installer cut too large an access hole for the top of the rudder shaft, and dropped the flange screws into the open space around the shaft. Nice !
3) At the joint across the top of each half, they installed another board, and bolted them together (for overlap reinforcement - logical). However, most of the nuts were loose (no lock washers, nor locking nuts). A couple of nuts were missing (likely vibrated off and into the bilge). Nice again!
4) Ironically, I had noticed some stress cracks in the gel coat around the port rudder access point on the outside of the hull (stripped the bottom last fall).
Here's my questions -
Could this be a source of vibration from the rudder(s) if the top end of the shaft is not secured well? I thought I could feel some front to back play by grabbing the steering arm, but it was difficult to get leverage from the position I was in.
I noticed both the shaft flanges appear to be on a slight angle from the horizontal support board they attach to. The side of the flange closest to the stern is raised about ~1/16". Not sure if this is "normal" (?). Since I have the rudder out, is it logical to have the rudder checked to see if the shaft is bent? I carried the rudder up to the shop today. The service crew indicated it is not very likely to be bent (quote - "it's difficult to bend a rudder shaft").
Should I drop the external hull rudder flange to inspect, and/or install new bolts?
I feel I should at least:
- reinforce the top of the port rudder shaft. My options are install more wood, or a steel plate to screw the flange into (cut smaller than the existing shaft hole, and extending to where I can secure it again).
- replace all nuts with lock nuts / fender washers
- possibly shim the support boards so they are flush with the shaft flanges. This looks like a lot of work, so if my risk is low, I prefer to skip this task.
Is my logic sane?
Am I overlooking anything obvious you can recommend?
Figured I would post here first, hoping some Carver owners would be most familiar with what I am describing below... Kenny, please jump in.
I have been chasing a small vibration above 2000-2500 RPMs. I have paid big to have all the logical stuff done in the past years but still never got it all (shafts dialed, props refurb, aligned, rudder support bases replaced, etc). I was snooping around under the cabinet where the Port side steering linkage is hidden, and noticed some sawdust around the flange that holds the top of the rudder shaft to a horizontal support board (the flange directly under the steering arm keyed to the shaft). When I went to check the tightness on the 3 flange screws they just spun freely. So I decided to drop the rudder and check things out more closely.
1) The port half of the horizontal support board had been replaced sometime before I bought the boat.
2) The installer cut too large an access hole for the top of the rudder shaft, and dropped the flange screws into the open space around the shaft. Nice !
3) At the joint across the top of each half, they installed another board, and bolted them together (for overlap reinforcement - logical). However, most of the nuts were loose (no lock washers, nor locking nuts). A couple of nuts were missing (likely vibrated off and into the bilge). Nice again!
4) Ironically, I had noticed some stress cracks in the gel coat around the port rudder access point on the outside of the hull (stripped the bottom last fall).
Here's my questions -
Could this be a source of vibration from the rudder(s) if the top end of the shaft is not secured well? I thought I could feel some front to back play by grabbing the steering arm, but it was difficult to get leverage from the position I was in.
I noticed both the shaft flanges appear to be on a slight angle from the horizontal support board they attach to. The side of the flange closest to the stern is raised about ~1/16". Not sure if this is "normal" (?). Since I have the rudder out, is it logical to have the rudder checked to see if the shaft is bent? I carried the rudder up to the shop today. The service crew indicated it is not very likely to be bent (quote - "it's difficult to bend a rudder shaft").
Should I drop the external hull rudder flange to inspect, and/or install new bolts?
I feel I should at least:
- reinforce the top of the port rudder shaft. My options are install more wood, or a steel plate to screw the flange into (cut smaller than the existing shaft hole, and extending to where I can secure it again).
- replace all nuts with lock nuts / fender washers
- possibly shim the support boards so they are flush with the shaft flanges. This looks like a lot of work, so if my risk is low, I prefer to skip this task.
Is my logic sane?
Am I overlooking anything obvious you can recommend?