Bavaria 31 rudder, has it slipped down ?

[Deep stall]

Hello all,first time post.
I’m the owner of a 1999 Bavaria 31 for 18 months. Out of the water at the moment and a local surveyor thinks my rudder is hanging too low. The gap between the rudder and the hull,even at its narrowest point is several centimetres.
Looking at other Bavaria 31 and 32's for sale it seems there is a bit of a gap but would be interested to hear from fellow owners .
It was this way for the pre purchase survey and hasn’t moved since I’ve owned the boat but would appreciate if any other Bavaria 31 or 32 owners had a similiar pic of theirs and could compare.

On a side note, though the rudder may be too low it appears the steering quadrant may be too high as it’s it's rubbing against the fibreglass behind at full deflection, unless this is normal. Steering cables seem to be running straight.

I’m not sure how to post pictures but will do in a reply if I can figure out how!

Repeating the question here from the YBW website as suggested by a poster there.

Many thanks

[Yngmar]

Welcome. Pictures can be posted as described here.

Check how much thread is left above the top nut? Also check if it turns or is secured.

The quadrant can be adjusted up or down as needed, and it sounds like your steering needs a round of adjusting.

[Deep stall]

Pictures showing the gap between rudder and hull.

[Deep stall]

Pictures showing rudder centred and at full deflection where it's been rubbing.

[Deep stall]

Thanks for the prompt response Yngmar,  I'll check the nut this afternoon.
If I lower the quadrant to stop the rubbing it will leave the steering cable running at an angle rather than 90 degrees.
Watching a YouTube video of a guy antifouling his Bavaria 32 there seems to be a similiar gap but not so pronounced so I'm wondering if it's a design feature  of these boats.

[Symphony]

Gap looks fairly normal to me, but if the nut allows the stock to move up to reduce it a bit this will perhaps enable you to lower the quadrant to give extra clearance while maintaining a fair lead for the cables.

BTW, not a good idea to antifoul the exposed stock as it is aluminium. If you are going to coat it, then use a compatible AF such as Trilux on both the stock and the area of the hull around where the stock emerges. Copper based AFs can lead to electrolytic action and corrosion on the stock, particularly in the region of the lower bearing.

[Deep stall]

Thanks for the reassuring reply, moving the stock up and the quadrant would make some sense.
Thanks for the antifouling tip too, that's how I 'inherited her' but currently antifouling and have trilux for the saildrive so will get to it!
Ta.

[tiger79]

....if the nut allows the stock to move up to reduce it a bit this will perhaps enable you to lower the quadrant to give extra clearance while maintaining a fair lead for the cables.

I don't understand this comment.  Currently, the steering cables have a straight lead on to the quadrant.  If the quadrant is lowered to give extra clearance, surely the cables will have less of a fair lead on to the quadrant?

[IslandAlchemy]

Gap does look a bit bigger than normal.  I have a nylon spacer between the hull and rudder blade on my boat, probably about 6-10mm thick.

[Deep stall]

Heres a picture of the nut at the top.
I'm not sure where I should be seeing the extra threads, position 1 or 2?
Do I need a special tool to move it?

Thanks for the replies so far. As it hasn't moved since last year I'm inclined to relaunch next week and monitor closely!

[Yngmar]

Position 1. Looks like it's all a bit further down than it should be, although not a huge deal. Are there any other rudder stops that would prevent the quadrant from turning too far? Because it looks like what you described as "rubbing" is actually the rudder stops, just the quadrant may be a bit too far down as well. And I'd put some rubber pads on there if it was my boat, to prevent future wear and have gentler stops when the rudder goes hard over.

The rudder top nut can be adjusted by loosening the Philips screw that pinches it, which is how it locks, and then tightened up (easiest if someone is lifting the rudder from below whilst you're out of the water anyways). Then tighten the locking screw again. Mine needed some blue Loctite to stay tight. Make sure the rudder still clears the hull at both extremes and the quadrant is at the right height (end stops working and steering cables running straight).

[Deep stall]

There's no other 'stop' that I can see for the quadrant. I hadn't noticed the wear there till I started to look closer at the whole rudder stock positioning but I agree with putting something a bit more forgiving where the wear points are.
I think I've satisfied myself with the opinions here that the rudder is not actually slipping down per se and should be secure so I should be back in the water next week.
Thanks for the opinions expressed, look forward to being a more regular contributor here.

Tj