Well the bushes in the rudders eventually need replacing. They are a plastic bush. After about 30,000nm the top bushes needed replacing.
So . … do we slip, or can it be done in the water?
Do the rudders sink straight to the bottom of the ocean, or do they float?
Once the rudders are removed, will the boat sink?
Well the answers are, it’s reasonably easy to remove the rudders in the water.
The rudders on a 480 are neutrally bouyant.
The rudder support tubes are about 40cm above the waterline, so no water will come in when you take the rudders out…
Here are some photos…!
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Not to be negative but…we are rebuilding our rudders because the stainless shaft deteriorated. We had a bit of a wiggle, which we initially thought was a bearing.
It wasn’t…we noticed some water weeping from the rudder and a bit of wiggle. We cut the rudder open and got all the way down to the shaft to find massive rust eating through the shaft.
Here’s the problem. Your stainless steel rudder shaft is now filled with salt water. I would definitely get a hose down in there to flush it out, and then suck the water out with a vacuum. I’m sure you already know but stainless needs to breath and being sealed up inside the rudder can create issues. Leaving salt residue inside the shaft would likely exacerbate the potential of rust issues.
Interesting that they were neutrally buoyant. My guess would have been… straight to the bottom. Our rudder weighed about 60lbs.
Can someone send me Knysna contact info? I will need to replace my rudders and would also like a price on a slanted window
You could try contacting Carell (after sales service) on service1@knysnayachtco.com
