Cal 29 rudder bearings

[Echo1]

Hello we are new here. We are from Canada’s west coast. We just bought a Cal 29 a few months ago and besides some of the usual cosmetic upgrades I think we got a solid boat. I’m new to sailing and so far so good. We just sailed around the west coast of Vancouver island. From Nanaimo BC to Port Alberni BC. The trip was a good test for our limited experience. This is my first post on here so go easy on me. We hauls the boat out and had a survey done. The survivor found no issues. It seems like the tiller on the boat is becoming harder to turn. There is no slop in the rudder and I can not find any grease nipples. So I’m thinking the bearings must be getting old and in need or replacement. Can anyone tell me what the bearing specs would be and where I could source them. Any info would be great. Thank you.

[Nicholson58]

You may have to pull the rudder to see. Hope someone can give you details.

Our 1984 Camper & Nicholson had nylon sleeve bearings. If yours are similar then get replacements from IGUS. https://www.igus.com/iglide/plain-bearing You can pick any ID OD Length or material, with or without a flange.

You might just find the cable wheels and other parts are making the drag. Is the hand brake engaged? Try grease and oil before you get way in to this. Disassemble some components and move by hand to isolate the friction. Hope the shaft is not bent.

[michaeld]

We owned a 1979 Cal 2-27 for fourteen years. My experience with that hull is the rudder stock is supported solely by a fiberglass tube. No rudder bearings were designed into it by Bill Lapworth.

During a club Buoy race, we were hard to wind and the SS tube snapped off at the hull. The rudder floated and a competitor stopped racing to recover it. Our shade tree mechanic approach was a effective repair, but a couple years later we had a new rudder built.

Good luck!