Rudder Post Leak

You got to remove the four old post nuts and bolts , and replace them with new ones the same that came out.
clean things up between the rudder post square block and the hull the best you can and re bed with 5200 .

You may have to use good old bedding seam compound .
That will work no matter what.

Looks like the nut top is wet. You sure the gland not leaking?
Our Bert used to leak when underway, stopped when static. Worn log tubes.
Even US Yacht shafts logs did not leak on the hull.

Wow, That's a lot of pitch on those wheels.
Warp speed??

Thru the many years of working on old boats, I have learned the hard way; rudder post are the most miss - understood.
The rudder shafts do not spin like a propeller shaft yet we expect the glands to work the same way.
They do not...
We keep tightening them down and are amazed two weeks later it is wet down there.

It takes more than a bi monthly visit to look and ***** about leaking rudder post gland.
It takes effort and often visits and adjustments to get them to stop leaking and vigilance to stay on top of a dry bilge.

The un-even mounting you see between the hull and the mount of the rudder shaft tube means nothing towards your leak. AS LONG as it has never changed. Where are your purchase photos. I bet they are intact.
My 41 year old Bert was suspected of leaking rudder post assembly at the hull after purchase 16 years ago. NOT...

Oh, Not to feel special, I noticed my aft pump running on last weeks run. With a smile to my self, been busy, I know I have messed up and over due on my old 41 year old rudder post, that are usually dry.

We own Aqua Space Ships... Maintenance is never easy, on schedule or completed.

I luv your prop specs and updated pitch.
Don't let the repair shops take away any diameter.

Rare to see, prop nuts on correctly also.

Your pictures do not show a top pillow bearing. I'm assuming the weight of the rudder is on those cold pins and nylon washers. The rudder shaft tube taking the side force from the tillers.
Could you send some above down pics of the rudder shaft to confirm my thoughts?

Some observations;

The weight of the rudder is on those pins, resting on the plastic shims.
In the event of a pin failure, the tiller or next pin would keep the rudder from dropping completely.

Your picture in post #1 shows in tightening the post gland to reduce leaking, the rudder has been lowered.
With a gap that large, I would assume your out of packing material (Flax).

With these pins and weight of the rudder bearing down, Replacing the flax or any gland service is going to be a heck of a chore.

If your going to take it all apart and want it (IMO) more correct, Replace that top plastic plate with a flange bearing to hold the weight on top of the shelf plank. Now with the pins and plastic shims removed, gland service is a snap anytime.

Below is the best pic I could find this morning.


Often the rudder shelf plank (in blue) is called the pillow.

Why is there a pin in the middle doing nothing from what I see?
What Ralph said , you have to get the load bearing pin out of the way to install flax packing AND to be able to adjust the packing nuts with the hopes you line up the hole in the shaft for the resting pin to go back into and carry the load...hope you can shift the load to the top mounting plate.

I started to think about this and did not like what came to mind.
Stainless steel has a fault; Crevice Corrosion.

Filling with epoxy was a thought but I would always worry about a micro drop of moisture getting in some how.
I would either clean the holes real well and leaving them dry and empty or clean and push water proof grease thru the holes.
Maybe some others on YF understands what I'm trying to explain and have some better thoughts.

In my past, The yard or prop/shaft shop provided the pillow bearings for new work.
I've gone to bearing shops with the core and matched up replacements for repair work.

Closed bearing, zerk fitting, shaft capturing screws like a prop shaft coupler.
I have no brand recommendations.

Now, the gland.
Long, long (long) ago, I remember working on an old alloy Striker. The welded in rudder tube tops were corroding away at the bronze gland packing and crumbling away.
Instead of cutting out the tubes and welding in a new ones, I just cut the tube tops off a bit and installed the LassDrop all synthetic shaft logs.
Years later with zero maintenance, still bone dry.

These days there must be a dozen low maintenance shaft log vendors out there.
Something extra to think about.

Ah yes, I luv thinking up ways for others to spend lots of their money..