I am experiencing slight leakage around both rudder posts. Very minor amount. About a quart on a two hour run. While in the water, I have pulled and pulled on the rudders and no movement. there does not seem to be a packing gland that is serviceable. I’ve reviewed several videos but can’t find anything that looks like mine. any adjustments I can make without Pulling out in the yard?
This is an old attempt of perfect flat surfaces forming a water lubricated face seal. Kind of like an older Lasdrop shaft logs, before they went to a lip seal.. The weight of the rudder is used instead of a spring loaded shaft log hose. However, unlike the spring loaded hose, this over gel-coated monolith to itself, is not flexible and the faces will not stay perfectly flat or clean.. Sadly, you have the end result of a poor factory design. Oh, just looked up; Yep, A Carver. If the seal height is close to your static waterline, you may consider lightening up your aft. Un-load the weight in the aft. Invest in redundant bilge pumps and batteries. Or, You can take it all apart and re-polish the faces but while it is apart, consider having a more proper log/seal installed.
Wow Capt Ralph. A little more negative answer than I expected. I know Carver is not an ocean crossing exploration trawler, but my OA or Nordhaven budget is a little stressed right now. You’re right it does appear to be above the water line as in port it does not leak. so my choices are carry half my fuel in my tanks, remove my generator and put my portable Honda along with a couple of 55 gallon diesel barrels on the bow and I should be ok? So it appears the repair is above my ability. What I’m trying to ask is what should I be discussing with the yard? Removal of rudders, repolish shaft and faces, and just expect some leakage? Or is it possible to install a proper log/seal without re-engineering the entire aft end of the boat? Appreciate any advice short of selling my Carver. Yes I do have a new, larger aft bilge pump installed this year.
Sir Sorry you feel my reply was negative. I just did not apply anything nice. Just woke up with a thought; How do you preload that face seal on a slow turning collar? You can't. I was incorrect, that is a lip seal in there. Still not a nice remedy; the boat will still need to be out the the water for proper service. Ah, some good news, that seal should be easily available.
Jnicholas, No need to sell your boat. I had to replace mine on a 444 and have since put 900 hours on it with no issues. That lip seal is easy to replace, tides marine sells it, probably 1.5”. Contact them, they’ll help you… You’ll need to haul of course. When I did mine I dropped the rudders (just dig a bit in the yard if on soft ground) and I used a car scissor jack to press the seal back in slowly using the upper cross brace as an upper support for the jack. It’s tricky otherwise to get the seal to press in straight. Don’t use a hammer, you don’t want it going in on an angle, it’ll jam…
I hate to be a painKSBGUY but I’m having trouble visualizing how the jack is going to push the seal in straight. Any photos of when you did repair? My yard is making it sound like the rudder shafts will need to be filled and honed as there is some visual corrosion on the shafts. Did you have to do this steps as well?
With the rudder slid out and new seal removed you now have a flat surface there to press on. Take a look at the car scissor Jack. The base of the Jack that would sit on the ground I placed centered and evenly over the new seal with the new seal sitting on the hole evenly. Place a block of wood above the jack (where it would engage the frame of the car and that will press on the plastic cross member you have above the seal that the rudder shaft slides into - make sense? The jack sits between those two points and forces the jack to press the seal in once it contacts the upper cross member. Go slowly and make sure the seal is going in straight as you raise the jack. I did not have any pitting of the shaft, just some salt that I gently removed with some emery cloth, If you have deep pitting (I doubt it unless you’re letting your zincs disappear) it’ll have to be addressed. What model you have? Good Luck.
This is a carver 450 voyager. 2000 you can see in this photo that the shaft does not look pitted to me. I think this should clean up. Guess I won’t know until it is dropped
I’m interested in what you found. I have a carver with a similar problem. The top ring looks like a stationary lip seal that could be removed and replaced while in the water. Appears that the two screws hold it in place. Is this the arrangement? Thanks in advance for your help.
I hauled at the yard and had both rudders dropped. Since I still work I could not be present when all projects in the yard were being completed. I am told that rudders were dropped, and salt build up removed. No pitting as zincs are well maintained. New seals were pressed in But I don’t think they used a car jack but not sure how they did it. starboard side is leak free, port side is greatly reduced. I had installed a Much larger aft pump but not enough leakage to even make its way into the well below the generator. so as much as I have a dry bilge, I have to live with a small amount of salt water in the well next to the rudder. i had been told to try and use a small amount of wax from a toilet seal. I did this before work in the yard. It may have slowed the leak but did not solve the problem next time I haul I’ll look at seal again and see what they think. In the meantime the rudder has no play while diving on it and pulling and pushing. If you learn anything new to try short of not carrying fuel or removing my generator pass,it on!
