Hello gang, I know this topic has been hammered but I want to bring it to life once again. I am building my rudder shelf this week and initially was going to do something like in this picture, I think it looks clean, strong; I have the material, would be much quicker and last forever.
After reading some post and seeing Capt. Patrick’s "how to" I am having 2nd thoughts. Same concept just different, I want to eliminate as much wood as I can in the bilge; I also have some 3/4 PVC (H80) foam left from the V birth that I could use. Opinions?
Joe, Regardless of the material you MUST tie the shelf together..way too much stress on this area...I used two layers of 3/4 okume coated with epoxy and coverd with 1708, then I tabbed it to the hull with two layers of 1708 and through bolted it to the stringers...keep your upper bearing as high as possible..its all about leverage..Harry has a slick set up and he has a pic somewhere in here..shorter shelves limit that load being spread across the transom..may work but when in doubt...add more glass..just my 2cents..BH
1966 31 Bahia Mar #316-512....8 years later..Resolute is now a reality..Builder to Boater..285 hours on the clocks..enjoying every minute..how many days till spring?
Last year I followed Capt Pat's plans for the rudder shelves to the letter and they turned out perfect. I mocked them up in thin plywood first for a template and I am extremely happy with them.
Make sure you also get the oversized rudders if you don't already have them.
Troy & Daria
28 Bertram FBC, 3.9 Cummin BT's
Conchy Joe "ITS THE BOAT'S NAME, NOT MINE" -
Hypoluxo Point, FL
With very minimal preventative maintenance, both before installing and after installing, opting for very high dollar stainless upper bearings is just plain overkill.
A little planning, a little paint before installation, and a little water proof grease, and the $12 - $15 each cast iron body flange bearings can last a life time.
It's all about regular maintenance...
And those high dollar stainless bearing are going to require almost the exact same maintenance, save the paint. But you'll need to wire brush them from time to time because the 304 stainless is still gonna' speckle with rust.
I use the 4-bolt cast iron flange bearings from WW Grainger and if you keep them greased thru the zerk (I use an air powered grease gun to get a lot in there) and smear grease on the outside and/or coat them with Max Wax, they will last as long as you keep them coated. And when they finally crap out, they only cost less than $20 a pop. I looked at mine the other day - been in place for at least 8 years, and they have zero rust, plenty of grease.
Havent seen them in bronze... Just a stainless kind of guy... I would rather put the extra 50-100 in now and not have to worry about doing more than just wire brushing/keeping them coated with some c/x etc...
Custom made.......top bearing is all 316L Stainless with a 932 Bronze bearing.....
This will not work without making a specially modifed rudder shaft. My rudder shafts have a 15/16" dia extension above the 1" Square that fits into the bearing shown.
Bought my ss /delrin bearing from Danny at hi tide,as far as trying to remember to give them q lube job periodically , I have a series of spreadsheet punch off list, there will always be something missed, a couple of weeks ago we were deep dropping in the Bahamas , stern to the heavy seas to hold her in place, took a lot of water over the transom and thru the scuppers, for some reason I asked the crew to check the bilge and we had about enough water to start to emerge onto the cockpit floor , the Capt was supposed to Check and Prove functionality of the bilge pump system, ie manual, auto, hi water,audibles and visuals, on a quarterly basis, he only pulled the manual switch apparently , looking for a new captain ,lots of stuff to maintain in a salt water bath environment, I have weekly, monthly quarterly, semi annual, annual check list in addition to 1day, multiple day, fishing trips as well as off shore multi day cruises,still miss stuff, scary moment can ruin a vacation for u and your guest,vacations don't come often enough and the cost to make trip add up quick,in addition to the boose and calcuttas!
Joe, I went stainless bearing and support, bearing came from a distributor in boston..BH
1966 31 Bahia Mar #316-512....8 years later..Resolute is now a reality..Builder to Boater..285 hours on the clocks..enjoying every minute..how many days till spring?
