Urgent!!! Need Help! Rudder / tiler play small vibration when sailing in a good breeze

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gabriel.donnelly
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:00 pm

Urgent!!! Need Help! Rudder / tiler play small vibration when sailing in a good breeze

Post by gabriel.donnelly »

HELP! Hello all- I have performed a search and haven't found any other topics addressing this issue I am having. I have noticed that there is a a bit of play in mt tiler and when in a good breeze a bit of a vibration. The vibration has been there ever since I bought her but the loosening is concerning me. The tiller is solid on the mount cap that covers the fiberglass, but the play is between the mount cap and deck right there I can tell because the caulking is loose there too.
What is my next step? How do I tighten this up?
Thanks!
gabriel.
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prjacobs
Posts: 235
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 4:06 pm

Re: Urgent!!! Need Help! Rudder / tiler play small vibration when sailing in a good breeze

Post by prjacobs »

Gabriel, the rudder has 3 main supports:
- at the base of the skeg there is a gudgeon with a bushing .
- at the top of the rudder blade, where the rudder shaft enters the hull, there is another bushing.
- in the cockpit where the shaft comes through to join with the tiller bracket, is a third bushing (IIRC pressed into the bronze plate at the top).
If any of these bushings are worn they may be the cause of your vibration. Also, if the rudder blade itself has some broken internal supports this could be another cause. Check out the article Re-building an Albin Vega rudder of similar construction to the Ballad's rudder. Scroll to the bottom for pictures.
BTW, this is a family-oriented site so please choose your language more carefully :o
Here is a shot of my Ballad rudder during a haul out.
Hope this helps.
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peterohman
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:24 pm

Re: Urgent!!! Need Help! Rudder / tiler play small vibration when sailing in a good breeze

Post by peterohman »

If you look a a flag in heavy wind you notice how it moves. I believe it is this is what you experience when water passes your rudder. You can not remove this vibration, only modify it´s frequence. If you modify the back edge of your rudder to become only a few mm wide with sharp edges the frequence will become so high so you will not notice it in the tiller.
/Peter
peterohman
Posts: 24
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:24 pm

Re: Urgent!!! Need Help! Rudder / tiler play small vibration when sailing in a good breeze

Post by peterohman »

And I agree with Peter J about language use, so I removed the post he commented since it added no value.
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