Stiff noisy steering

[Alphadug]

Don't know if this is covered in the thread about removing a rudder with seized bearings. We have a 2015 Vision 42 that did the following yesterday. We were motoring home at the end of a weekend cruise. Steering was easy and light at the start but about an hour in to a 1.5 hour trip I noticed it was suddenly very stiff and noisy. As my wife docks the boat ( I do the jumping on to the dock part) I don't know if it changed at low speed and she was too busy to notice. At the dock it was smooth and easy to turn the wheels. Does a bearing problem only occur at speed or is one of the links in the steering chain seized? Maybe the tight turns loosened it? I'm going to lube the chain today, it's fairly short, just runs over the autopilot sprocket. We may have to go out for a test this week as a bad bearing would ruin our upcoming trip. Does a bad bearing only show up under load even though we were motoring in a straight line with minimal loading? Thanks all. Doug

[Yngmar]

Check for rudder post play from inside (grab the quadrant and try rattle it around as hard as you can).

If the bearing is severely worn, the rudder post can bind when under load from moving water. When the boat is standing still, it may hang straight down and go easily again.

[geoff]

Last week I had the same problem, It turned out to be a small branch stuck between hull and rudder . One pull and it was gone. Geoff

[Alphadug]

Thanks Geoff and Yngmar, is it likely that a 2015 boat with only 650 hours on the clock would have worn rudder bearings? I like Geoff's solution as there has been no previous problem with stiffness. The loud grinding noise does concern me. I was at the boat yesterday and lubed the short length of chain and could feel no stiffness from lock to lock. I could turn the rudder using just the quadrant, hard to feel any play the way it is mounted. It may have been some kelp as there's lots in our water, too cold to go for a dip!  Doug

[kavok]

http://bavariayacht.org/forum/index.php/topic,2165.msg16446.html#msg16446

[Odysseus]

This subject comes up often, some issues mechanically, but more often it's just salt crushed up between the bearings,. My fix is to put a small amount of oil (half a cup)  down the rubber gaiter when lifted out and move the steering lock to lock for a time you will see the crud come out of the rudder stock from below.
I have put this on the site before, such an easy fix but it seems to be missed by a lot.

Hope this helps
Odysseus
Bav 38

[kavok]

Jefa inform customers to put grease only  between bearing  and  bearing house.I think  your  oil go between rudder  stock and rollers  in  to the  bearing.

[Odysseus]

What ever it does in there it works, 2005 boat and can turn steering with my little finger.

Odysseus.

[Salty]

I have seen your earlier posting regarding this, but thanks Bill for the reminder.

[bmm]

I had a stiff rudder on my bav32.  While on the water today I loosened the gaiter and poured truckwash down the sides of the rudder shaft.   Took it out for a good hard sail and now the steering has become much, much lighter.  It obviously cleared something out of the bearing rollers.