Unknown Parts

I just measured the tube & shaft , it happens to be a common size for a cutlass bearing , all I had to do was gently tap it into the tube with a rubber mallet .

Thanks Mike,I`m still curious does everyone just have the cap?I say again I think the bearing was a Pearson revision.Still looking for comments?

If it was a revision, it must have happened in the first months of Ariel production. #76 had the bearing shown in the manual, which I replaced in 1982 with a new one from Pearson that looked just like the one in the manual drawing.

Looks like your the lone ranger on this one Capt. Bill,the drawing of the bearing is from 1982 in the manuel and the cap from 1964. I ask again as an a dumb engineer why would you need both????One more thing I would like to add,every thing I put on this board is from my personal experience not something I have read in a manuel or have watched someone else do.

That's what you get for being an engineer and reading all that stuff on the drawings:) The "1982" date was the date the bearing drawing was re-done by Jean Lee for the First Edition of the manual. She is a local San Jose draftsperson and owned #330. The Cap drawing was not redrawn and reflects the latest Pearson revision in 1964.

The cap is shown fitting over the rudder post tubing. Its purpose is to retain the bearing. Note that the rudder shaft is drawn inside the rudder post at 1.062 inch diameter. The bearing, which fits into the rudder post tubing, has an inner diameter of 1.5 inches, allowing the shaft to turn against the O ring. It would be more clear if Pearson had shown the wall thickness and inner diameter of the tube on the cap drawing.

All,

Just took off my rudder shaft cap which was held on with 3 - 1/8" allen head set screws. there is a bronze sleeve/bushing on the rudder post proper which is captured by the smaller of the two inside diameters of the cap when the cap is in place.

The cap looks to be machined to fit over the rudder tube and to act as a bearing surface for the sleeve/bushing which is on the rudder shaft.

I can find only one o-ring which is inset into a groove in the top portion of the cap which then rides directly against the rudder shaft.

I have a lot of slop too and will either go the cutlass bearing route or press in a sleeve to reduce the inside diameter of the cap bearing surface a bit further.

Russ

Thanks,noeta,your cap sounds different than mine was.It had 2 o-rings,1 at the top were the shaft went threw and a large one at the bottom that sealed around the post.Any way I threw it away along time ago.

This is all I have,you have to remember this is a poor mans boat.If I were rich and could aford both the bearing and cap I`d probably live in California.

Here is the rudder post from #66. The cap, like that on Noeta, has three set screws. There appears to be no bearing inside, as when I pull the cap up, the shaft moves freely from side to side.

This is not to say that there was never a bearing there...#66 is, after all, 40 years old.

Let's try that again...

S.Airing,

On closer inspection of my cap it would seem that the sleeve/bushing on the rudder post doesn't come close to bearing on the shoulder within the cap ... but it will when I get done with it!!! I priced a cutlass bearing...Yikes, I couldn't have afforded that when I did live in Kalifornia. Certainly can't living here in Maine. But I can exercise the 2nd Ammendment.:D

As I mentioned before my cap has a shoulder of a smaller diameter than the section that sets down over the rudder post tube. This shoulder surrounds a sleeve/bushing on the rudder shaft but still leaves a gap in excess of 1/4" all around. So the only real bearing surface currently is the hole(& o-ring) in the top of the cap that the rudder shaft passes through.

A friend has some teflon sheeting 3/4" thick that I intend to cut into a donut shape to fit into the cap and surround the rudder sleeve/bushing. I will pin the teflon donut in place within the cap to keep it from shifting and it will also be easy too replace with a new donut as required. Should work slick. The teflon is very tough and my friend has used the stuff for bearings in fish feed barges for the past few years and notes there is very little wear.

This may not be the final solution but for me it's the timely $$ ticket $$ .