Rudder post issues in Leopard 44, 2016

[capn_billl]

I have a rudder post that apparently has become unscrewed.

when I move the rudder, the entire assembly rotates, just on one rudder, the other stays put.

When I tighten it, the rudder is hard to move, and it works loose again.

The ultimate fix is probably to haul it, and remove rudder post, and reassemble the entire thing with Locktight.

Meanwhile it's a 3 day sail to the nearest shipyard with a 25 foot wide crane.

I'm thinking loosen until it leaks, squirt in some 3M, or equivalent, and snug it until it stops, and see what happens.

Anyone have experience with this?

[smj]

I’m having a hard time understanding the problem. Maybe some pictures or diagrams would help?

[MikeFergie]

Bill send a post to the leopard owners forum or on the Facebook leopard group.
It seems as if you rudder bearing has seized in the hull fitting causing this problem.

The only way to truly fix it is to drop the rudder blade and put the boat on the sand and change out the parts at low tide and then put your rudder back or to haul the boat. Either way you need the parts from JP3 in France

[capn_billl]

Thanks. This is the information I needed.

I knew dropping the rudder was likely the fix, but I was not aware of the bearing.

[capn_billl]

Just looked at JP3's website.

Yes, that's what it looks like.

They say service every 5-6 years. The boat is 4 years old, but saw heavy charter usage.

Maybe time to replace.

[MikeFergie]

Yup they are serviceable and replaceable parts