Fitting fell off the rudder

[Vinnie45]

This afternoon I lost steering while cruising . I found that the fitting let loose where you would place the spare tiller. I lifted the rudder back and screwed it in  is there a reason why this happened and I would assume it will happen again

[MarkTheBike]

Hi Vinnie

Are you saying that the securing ring undid itself? Jeepers, that must have led to some excitement (what I'm starting to think of as The Bavaria Stomach Churn). I assume most of the Bavs are the same in that there should be a securing screw squeezing the two sides  of the ring together locking it in place. Is yours loose or has it jumped ship? I tighten mine with a gentle tap of an Impact Driver.

[Vinnie45]

Yes now that you say quite and adventure coming to a mooring seas 3ft. Winds blowing 25 barely could steer . The rudder must have been held by something ! I pushed it back up after finding the fittings had fallen off , just as I was telling my wife where and how to use spare tiller which in this case was useless as the fitting was gone. I am still worried if it happened once could it happen again.

[MarkTheBike]

Hi Vinnie

If the locking screw is tight then it shouldn't happen again. I assume you lost the securing ring overboard. I'm off to the boat today so I'll take a pic of the setup and post it tonight for you so you can see what I mean. I think someone mentioned that Bavaria rudders float so that would perhaps explain why you didn't lose it completely. Anyone else have experience of this?

[Vinnie45]

Yes please send me a picture if you can

[MarkTheBike]

Ha! I was just uploading the photos when my pc crashed... 

Figaro is a B34 / 2001 - is this the same as yours? The securing ring is slotted along one edge and the stainless screw squeezes the two sides together, locking the ring onto the thread.

Hope this helps...

[Vinnie45]

We have the same locking nut but we do not have the flat white type dish , I would have thought that the slit in side of it locked onto something . I will tighten it again and secure the screw . I will need to monitor as I am cruising away from where I live . I was thinking if I could find a nut ( besides me) to fit over the post of the rudder to secure in place until I get home maybe all right . Thank you and this forum has been great for me in US since no one owns a Bavaria and very dealers who can answer questions. Maybe we will go to metric in some century . Thank again

[Stuart]

We added a hose clip on the thread that was exposed above that "Jesus nut" that acts as a backup, sort of so I tell my self .

[MarkTheBike]

Hi Vinnie

The slit in the side obviously contains part of the thread so when the two sides are squeezed together by the screw, it distorts the ring and grips the thread on the shaft. It works very well but as I mentioned in an earlier post, I did use an impact screwdriver to make sure that the locking screw is properly tightened. It doesn't have to be hit hard, just tapped to ensure that it's a bit tighter than you can do with an ordinary screwdriver. A locking nut is a good idea for peace of mind if you can get one over there.

Stuart - good idea about the hoseclip. A handy quick-fix but I'd mark the securing ring in some way so that you can see it's not slowly undoing itself and easing the hoseclip off!!!

[MarkTheBike]

Vinnie

I forgot to say, the white dish is actually the deck where it shows through the teak so yours is probably the same. The white ring under the securing ring is the top bearing.

[Spirit of Mary]

I had also a loose locknut. Luckelly it was in the marina when moored and I didn't loose the lock nut and the teflon bearing ring. The reason was probably the continuous swell in the marina. The rudder dropped down. It came out of the top bearing, but could not fully drop off because the quadrant underdeck drops on a wooden wall.
I could lift the rudder with a line under the rudder and lifting it with help of the winch.
After  lifting I tightened the lock nut such that there is no axial play and the rudder just still turns free. After that I locked the slit nut with a better M6 Allan bolt, which can be tightened much better than the Original screw.
It never came loose anymore (now 4 years).
I wonder if the rudder will float although Bavaria claims it floats. Mine dropped down with still a lot of weight of the shaft above the water.

Ger

[Vinnie45]

I lifted from inside the boat to reattach what you are saying I need to bring the rudder up higher ?

[Moodymike]

Surely the rudder shaft would be prevented from falling out by the clamp on the steering quadrant ?

[Spirit of Mary]

The rudder can't be lifted higher as the bottom bearing allows for. With tightening the top lock nut you take out all the axial clearance. Unfortunately  there is no space left on the top thread for another nut above the existing lock nut.

Ger

[MarkTheBike]

Surely the rudder shaft would be prevented from falling out by the clamp on the steering quadrant ?

Oh yeah... doh! You can tell I'm an ex-tiller jockey. Wheels are a bit new-fangled for me. Suitably chastened