Rudder bushes

[freetasman]

Thank you Steve for the help.
I will remove the rudder if the surveyor does not like how it is.
If I have to remove it I was thinking if was possible to pack the boat above blocks to have about 1 metres clearance.
The Kettering marina have very good gear and expert personnel which handling very large and expensive yachts so I am not anticipate any problems if "Murphy" is not there

[freetasman]

I just found out that there is a pit on the Kettering marina so it will be of a good help.
I would like to have the ss bolts on hand so any of you remember how long are the 3/8 bolts and if I need washers?
For this application do I go for locking nuts or Locktite will be better?
I am trying to get the much parts available on hand to avoiding wasting time on trips to Hobart.
Thanks again for the awesome help.
Cheers, Arthur

[steve]

Hi Arthur,

Unfortunately I cannot remember the lengths of the bolts.  If you don't have a convenient supplier of bolts, maybe you could use threaded rod as Phillip suggested. A 1m length will be more than enough, 0.5m would probably do.  There are only three bolts in mine, and a mate's Mark 3 also has only three bolts, so this may be the standard arrangement.

Washers are not required.

I don't know what the life expectancy of Nyloc nuts is underwater so I would be inclined to use a marine sealant, or Locktite if it claims a long life underwater, or locking nuts as Phillip suggested.

I found that some of the polyester putty came away with the shoe, and some remained attached to the fibreglass.  I removed it all from the shoe and all the loose stuff from the fibreglass, which left large cavities between the shoe and fibreglass. I used epoxy mixed with filler between the shoe and fibreglass.  I was concerned that I would not be able to remove the shoe in future if the epoxy stuck to the shoe too well.  To prevent this I wrapped the shoe in clingfilm and wrapped PTFE tape around the bolts.  I removed the tape at the ends of the bolts and used Sikaflex around the ends and nuts.  Hopefully that will stop the nuts coming off.  I don't really know whether I did things right.

There was a thread in 2017 discussing the shoe and bearings which you may find interesting. 
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1980

[steve]

Hi Arthur,

Unfortunately I have misled you about the size of the bush. I have just found my invoice from Vesco. It was 25mm ID, 30mm OD, rather than 1 inch. I hope that you can change your order. If not, I am sure you could cut the bush and squeeze it to fit.

[freetasman]

Thank you Steve, I have time to change the size of the bushes so will be OK.
The fasteners supplier is only 20 km from Kettering so it will be OK.

[Phillip]

I just found out that there is a pit on the Kettering marina so it will be of a good help.
I would like to have the ss bolts on hand so any of you remember how long are the 3/8 bolts and if I need washers?
For this application do I go for locking nuts or Locktite will be better?
I am trying to get the much parts available on hand to avoiding wasting time on trips to Hobart.
Thanks again for the awesome help.
Cheers, Arthur

threaded ss rod of 8mm dia, 2x 100mm and 2x 110mm. Use two locking nuts per rod.