Rudder through the hull

[Kubaliani04]

This should be my last question before i get my hands dirty with this motorizing stuff. Do you have to build or small stuffing box for the rudder post or can you just get away with just drilling a hole and putting some apoxy around the rudder so it is really tight around the shaft? I dont have alot of room on the stern of my tug so i am trying to think of ways to get the post to get through the hull but cant think of anything but building something small.

[toesup]

Put the rudder post through a good fitting short length of brass tube... epoxy the tube in to the hull... ;)

[towboatjoe]

Also to prevent any type of cavitating up the rudder shaft let the tube stick down about 1/16" to 1/8" below the hull.

One rare time I had a rudder tube flush with the hull and I kept getting water in the hull. Come to find out the water was runnin along the bottom of the hull and, when it hit the rudder shaft, it cavitated right up the tube and it was a pretty tight fit too.

[Bob Bighinatti]

My EQuipage Monaco has a block that the rudder shaft tube comes through. I think this for surport .
Bob Big :) :)

[LtDoc]

It may not seem like it, but that stuffing box/tube idea is probably the best bet. Making the top of that tube/box above water level is also nice. Means more water pressure will be needed to get any water into the boat via that tube/box. Using some type of grease, both as a lubricant and a water seal makes sense too.
If the in-hull area is sort of 'lacking', and you don't have a sort of easy access to that rudder tube after building, getting it as 'right' as possible -while- building, makes for much less aggravation later (getting to it later to re-seal the @#$ thing! You know?).
Is any of that 'fool proof'? Not really, but it certainly helps, at least it does for me. But then, I can 'mess' anything up!
'Getting there' is at least half the fun. So have fun!
- 'Doc

[Bob Bighinatti]

Yes i did see someing about grease in the tube to keep water out.
Bob Big.