What’s considered a normal amount of wiggle on a
rudder?
I have a 2006
Beneteau Oceanis 50 (aka 49 in America). It’s
on the hard right now (first time under my ownership) and I gave the
rudder a little shake to check the bearing. The rudder moves about 3 mm where it comes out of the
hull and makes a thumping
noise. Is this just the normal working of a (self-aligning) bearing?
I remember some wiggle room on my smaller, previous boats but no thumping
noise when wiggling the rudder. If it weren’t for the sound, I would probably not ask.
Any insights would be appreciated. The rudder stock in this Bene 50 is
fiberglass and probably about 160 mm in diameter. If memory serves me right my previous boats all had stainless stocks.
Thanks