Steering pulley attachment to the hull

[masterov]

Hi esteemed members,

Can anyone offer advice on the following?

Pulley attachment is coming off the hull (see photo). What is the best way to repair it?



1984 Wauquiez Amphitrite

[masterov]

We've removed the plate and it looks like there is a piece of wood underneath it. The dillema now is whether to take it out completely and replace or keep it in place? The wood seems to hold in place pretty well.

[DeepFrz]

What is all that "stuff"?

[leftbrainstuff]

Welds in tension is bad design etiquette but acceptable with enough thickness. Say 1/8" or greater for this application.

I'd replace with a double shear bracket. You could fab up a replacement using angle and thru bolts with backing plates.

Alternatively you could weld a doubler plate between the pulley and mating surface.

Bare metal on a boat is interesting. A cleanup and some good quality paint might look a little nicer.

[Pelagic]

It is hard for me to see what part of the pulley system is coming loose.

The wooden block (doubler) is bonded to the hull with countersunk bolts providing studs so you can attach the pulley plate.

Is it the studs turning so that you cannot tighten the plate?

[masterov]

Hi Pelagic,

Thank you for your response.

The problem is with the wooden block. It gave in, and two forward bolts are loose. The plate lifted on the front. So, we are trying to reinforce the wood with fiberglass, before we put the plate back.

[masterov]

Here is a more recent photo with most of the dust cleaned out

[UNCIVILIZED]

Pull the old plate & start over, as without question there will be degradation of the current one, & probably the bolt heads as well. Were it me, I'd use something inert (rot proof, & rust proof) for the new plate, like G-10. Along with non-ferrous fasteners like Bronze. And you'll want to bond it in place using several layers of cloth, starting with the smallest piece of reinforcement first. So that you get multiple bond lines securing things in place.

Also, don't pull out the old plate until you have it's exact location both marked off, & measured in relation to other fixed items nearby. Otherwise when you install the new one things could wind up being out of alignment, & you'd then need to start over. Which would suck.

[Pelagic]

I agree with uncivilized..
doing a patch job on something so critical as steering would always bother me when running with a big following sea and putting maximum strain on the rudder control.

Does it look like it had been repaired before?...

If yes that just helps to make my point.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I agree with uncivilized..
doing a patch job on something so critical as steering would always bother me when running with a big following sea and putting maximum strain on the rudder control.

Does it look like it had been repaired before?...

If yes that just helps to make my point.

Yes, the loads question ran though my mind as well. Along with the idea of through bolting it from the outside, in addition to bonding things in place. Though that might be a touch excessive. However there are other ways of reinforcing the attachment of the plate to the hull with bolts, along with epoxy & successive layers of cloth. And they needn't penetrate the hull's skin.

[Pelagic]

I agree, thru bolting is excessive
From the pictures it looks like the wooden doubler block may be attached to a liner as the pulley cable disappeared underneath.

Would be good to know if that is the case as it can simply the fix

[masterov]

Thanks guys. Really appreciate your advice. I should mention that we are docked in the marina in Cartagena, and our options are limited to what the locals can offer us. I will let you know what we'll end up doing tomorrow.

@Pelagic - it hasn't been fixed before. What is there is original construction, from 1984

[masterov]

@Pelagic what is a liner?

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by masterov

Hi Pelagic,

Thank you for your response.

The problem is with the wooden block. It gave in, and two forward bolts are loose. The plate lifted on the front. So, we are trying to reinforce the wood with fiberglass, before we put the plate back.

A liner is a secondary wall or floor which I see in your last photo ...that is the wooden floor I see with the chiselled out block exposing the bolts.

Can you feel a space underneath?
Can you touch the head of all 4 bolts?.

Originally Posted by masterov

Here is a more recent photo with most of the dust cleaned out
Attachment 138293

[masterov]

There is space underneath, but access to bolt heads is blocked.