Sabre 28 rudder

[roverhi]

Buying a Sabre 28 and the tiller/rudder connection has a bit more play than I'm happy with. Would like to remove the rudder head but wouldn't want the rudder to plummet to the bottom if there is nothing holding it on but the rudder head. Boat has a short skeg and wondering if there is a gudgeon/pintle in the skeg that would keep the rudder in place. Problem is the bolt that holds the tiller to the rudder head has elongated the hole in the aluminum rudder head. Would like to pull the rudder head and install a sleeve to remove the slop.

Can you pull the tiller rudder head fitment without the rudder falling out of the boat??

[KimSails]

I doubt that there is anything on the skeg that would hold the rudder in place. I have a Sabre 34 and it doesn't have anything like that.

I suggest, however, that you join the Sabre Sailboat group on yahoo. I think you will find many Sabre-knowledgeable people there. There is also a large history of past messages. While I read the Cruisers Forum regularly for its wealth of information, I think for Sabre-specific questions you will find the yahoo group to be an excellent information source.

[Matt Johnson]

Again, past 34' experience, but the rudder doesn't have anything on the skeg. The lower bearing/stuffing box is what holds them in place.

Matt

[rognvald]

Rover,
The Sabre 28 is a beautiful and great sailing boat. It should have two bolts on the rudder shaft: one that holds the tiller/tiller head to the rudder shaft(top) and a lower one that holds the shaft in the boat. There is normally a friction bearing(Delrin) under the collar on which the rudder head "floats". If your rudder is loose in the rudder tube, you have a good chance to "deep six" your rudder if you remove your lower bolt. Hope this helps. Good luck and safe sailing. P.S. I love tiller boats!

[UNCIVILIZED]

You could just go for a swim & tie the rudder in place. Non? I can't imagine that the water's at all unpleasant there.

[roverhi]

The water in California is never pleasant but then I think it's too cold to swim in Hawaii. The harbor where the marina the boat is at now is the delivery point for the Alaskan oil to be processed in the areas refineries and bulk cargo unloading. To say it's a commercial harbor is putting it mildly so I'm not jumping at the bit to take a swim.

The problem is the bolt that attaches the tiller to the aluminum rudder head has worn the rudder head oval. Will have to get the rudder head off, bore the hole round and install a sleeve. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures when I inspected the boat and I'm 2,000 miles away now. Won't be back at the boat for a couple of weeks but trying my ducks in a row so I can get the boat ready for delivery when I'm there. The boat's going to Oceanside in SoCal so will sail with it if I can't fix it in the water in SF.

[UNCIVILIZED]

I was thinking that the boat was in Hawaii when I made the swim comment, but then I swim in Puget Sound (45 deg) for extended periods, sans wetsuit.

For the rudder, is there room on the shaft, below the tiller fitting, for a shaft retention collar? Either a commercially made one, or a DIY version. PYI Inc. | Shaft Retention Collar

Or you could simply get the appropriate sized piece of canvas, attach lines to it's 4 corners, & slip it under the rudder. Followed by tensioning it enough so that it locks the rudder in place vertically. So that it'll prevent the rudder from moving whether you have the tiller fitting or a shaft collar in place or not.

[misfits]

I can scan & email you the detail that's in my manual if that helps you out.