Lubricant for Rudder Shaft???

[BobKat86]

Hi, all! I have a question about the rudder shaft on our 1972 Morgan.

My husband was wondering is he needs to use a lubricant on the rudder shaft or should it left to use water to lubricate while under sail.

BTW, here is a pics of Zig Zag.

[wsmurdoch]

My 1988 tiller steered Pacific Seacraft has a stainless steel rudder shaft that turns in a fiberglass tube without either bearings or seal. The fiberglass tube rises in the cockpit well above the waterline. I have a grease fitting set into the tube that gets ten or so strokes with a grease gun each year. The grease fills the narrow annulus between the shaft and tube and leaks out both ends if I over do it. Both times when I pulled the rudder I wiped off the old grease then put on a new layer before reinstalling the rudder. Below the rudder is bronze gudgeon. It gets greased when installed then never again.

Bill