Boat taking a lot of water, maybe rudder?

[alalor1]

Hello,
I have a 2001 Super Sport Nautique. When I bought her, she had a bent shaft (CC says it can be off by up to 0.005", mine was 0.048") so there was a vibration when in gear. Obviously it had hit something. The propeller was fine though, maybe the old owner had replaced it.
The problem I have is that the boat takes in quite a bit of water when we are at the lake.
My first reaction was to think that the ballast system I added was leaking. But I could not find any leaks in it, the tanks and the belly fat sac are full after hours of riding and pumping water out of the bilge. I also checked the skegs by the way, no leaks there since my old roommate's SS leaked there and so did my old Centurion.
So, one day, I let the water collect and pulled the boat out of the lake, scared that my weak Ram-Lin trailer that doesn't even have leaf springs would not hold her, but it did. After the boat had dried a little, it seemed that the water was coming from the rudder packing. This boat has a big stainless steel plate around the rudder hole. I am not sure how all this works. I guess whatever hit the prop and bent the shaft, hit the rudder too and makes it leak. The manual has instructions on how to tighten the propeller shaft packing but has no instructions about the rudder packing.
I first thought it was the shaft packing or the strut since it had all the vibration from the bent shaft, it could have gotten loose, but I could not find any downward leaks. Of course, it is always possible that something leaks one way and not the other...
Any ideas what else could be leaking?
Also, anybody knows how the seals on the rudder mount work and how to service them?
Thank you very much!
Alejandro

[DanielC]

RE: Boat taking a lot of water, maybe rudder?

Your rudder has a packing nut and rope type seal just like a prop shaft. You tighten it the same way, and it should not leak, it can be a little tighter than the prop shaft packing, because your rudder shaft will never turn several thousand RPM.
Remove some of the panels that separate the engine compartment from the storage compartment, launch your boat, and crawl into the space by the engine, WITH THE ENGINE OFF! and look for leaks.
There four screws that hold the rudder port in the boat, they go up (from the outside) through the rudder port (brass looking thing), through the hull of the boat, through another backing plate inside the hull, and are screwed into four nylock nuts. The parts are sealed with caulk when assembled, and there should be no leaks around the rudder port or hull where it joins the rudder port. You will need a #4 phillips screwdriver to fit the rudder port screws on the outside. Do not use a smaller screwdriver, you will damage the heads. You will need someone inside the boat, to hold the nuts, while you are on the outside of the boat to tighten the screws, if they need it. Tighten the screws from the outside, until they are snug, and then do the final tightening from the inside, on the nuts, while the screws are being held on the outside. The taper on the screws helps to hold from turning.
The pittman arm on the top of the rudder is the only thing that holds the rudder in the boat. If you remove the pittman arm, the rudder will fall out. DO NOT DO THIS IN THE WATER WITH THE BOAT LAUNCHED!

[alalor1]

RE: Boat taking a lot of water, maybe rudder?

Hello Daniel, thank you for your fast reply. I have taken the rudder out to replace the shaft. I did not notice the packing nut though, there's very little room back there...
I will check all that very soon. Thanks again

[coloradonautique]

Alejandro,

Not sure what year your boat is but here is a thread that has a picture and description of the rudder mount system. The four phillips bolts/nuts hold the backing plates to the boat, but there should be some rather large (1.5"?) brass packing nuts that work in conjunction with the waxed packing rope to keep water out. It is just like the shaft packing system but turned upright. Take a look at the photo and post any questions or PM me.

http://www.planetnautique.com/index....ghlight=rudder

-Lorin

[Rick]

If your boat is in the 2000 range the packing for the rudder is 1/4". If the boat is not leaking throught the shaft but through the plates you need to remove all clean and recaulk. If it's leaking through the packing make 3 rings that go all the way around the shaft. Stagger the place where the ends meet 120 degrees off of one another. Then tighten the packing nut by hand then 3/4 to 1 turn with a wrench. Thay should prevent any leaks. I second what DanielC says the rudder will fall out wuith the arm off and the nut and packing removed.

[jmo]

To help narrow down where the leak is coming from I would recommend you run the boat in your driveway via a "fake a lake" (or the poor mans version of connecting a section of 1" diameter hose to the input of the raw water strainer and put the other end in a bucket with a hose to keep it filled) to eliminate the possibility of loose connections, cracks, or issues with showers, heaters, etc.

[alalor1]

Thank you for all the advise. The boat is a 2001, I guess I did not make it very clear. I know the rudder will fall, I had to take it out when I took out the shaft, not only that, but it will leave a hole in the boat where the water will be coming into the boat fast!
I checked the water, and it is cold, not hot water, so it is not from the exhaust. I might have to take out one of the ballast tanks to be able to check everything better. I've tightened the nut a little and we'll go test it today if we don't have many lightnings around, I'm kinda scared of those.
Thanks again

[Kennydt]

Did tightening the nuts help? Exact same situation. Just installed FAE no exhaust leak but water dripping from shaft and rudder.

[NautiqueJeff]

Kennydt If your 2002 has never had the packing around the shaft or rudder adjusted, it is definitely time. Both require periodic adjustment, as outlined in the manual. If they are tightened fully and still leak, it is time to replace the packing material.

From the 2002 manual:








The rudder will have a similar configuration.

[pauldixon]

and if you need to replace the packing use the GORE packing. Amazing stuff. Almost eliminates needing to adjust the packing over time.

[s_kelley2000]

Sounds like you are on the right track with the rudder packing but if that doesn't solve it completely then there is one other spot that is prone to water intake on the 1st gen SS/SAN/210 hull. That is the seam where the top deck meets the hull by the swim platform. When the boat is fully ballasted, that seam is under water when the boat is at rest. If that seam is leaking it can be resealed with 3M 4200 or 5200 pretty easily. Remove platform, remove the black plastic trim that is screwed in to cover the seem. Clean out any old sealer and then put down a fresh bead of sealer and reinstall plastic strip and that should fix that issue.