Wauquiez Centurion 49 rudder

[duddikins]

Hi,
I am looking to buy a Wauquiez 49 in Croatia and have been to have a look at her. She has been on the hard for nearly two years and one of the things that concern me is the rudder being very stiff to turn. There are also signs of water in the rudder blade, two leakage spots on one side. Wheel, wires and quadrant look OK but I couldn't see the rudderstock bushes.
Does anyone know if this is a common problem and does anyone have a picture or drawing of the lower rudder support arrangement (on the tiny "skeg"). It looks like the rudderstock is stainless steel, what about the bushes? Bronze, Delrin?

I'd love to hear of any other useful info (good or bad) from a Wauquiez 49 owner.

Many thanks!

[Cheechako]

Is the rudder stiff to turn with the wheel... or do you mean from below? They usually are hard to turn from below. Water ingress into rudder cores is very common. My guess is "most". A lot of people are never aware of it though.

[duddikins]

Hi Cheechako and thanks for the quick reply. The rudder is stiff from below, which as you say is understandable, but it also feels very stiff when turning the wheel. Are you a Wauquiez owner yourself?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by duddikins

Hi Cheechako and thanks for the quick reply. The rudder is stiff from below, which as you say is understandable, but it also feels very stiff when turning the wheel. Are you a Wauquiez owner yourself?

No, I cant help you with Wauquiez specifics about the bearings.

[duddikins]

Hey, Thanks anyway and Happy New Year!!

[cpa]

My dad had a Centurion 49 and he still has a Wauquiez Pretorien 35. Our Centurion 49 did not have a stiff rudder. We loved the 49, but it became a bit of work to sail for my dad as he got older. After the amazing experience with the 49, he downsized to the Pretorien 35 and just adores the boat. I have sailed both quite a bit and can say as a result I would buy a Wauquiez in a second. The C49 was an amazing boat and we miss her dearly.

[CAELESTIS]

The rudder has bronze bearings, and no, those are not normal problems.
I believe that C49 has been on the market for more than 5 years.

The "skeg" is there to make it impossible for the rudder to fall out of the boat.

Years ago there was a C47, Panache, that was scuttled in an insurance fraud case. The salvage company raised the entire vessel from 1000 ft completely by the rudder, and it worked fine.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, duddikins.