High Seas Yacht Service » Inace Yachts

Seized Rudders – Check the Stuffing Box

Chris — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:10:07 +0000

Rudders on 111' Inace

One of our customers ran into a major problem with rudders that were seized in position. The rudder hydraulics had failed due to overloading. We knew it was a problem when a mechanic in the rudder room could not move the tiller arms using his legs and back.

Once hauled (the vessel had to be towed in) the rudders were removed. At High Seas we like to meet our customers prior to haul-out in order to start the steering and rudder removal process. After haul-out and during the pressure wash we complete the disassembly and can drop the rudders prior to final blocking. Most rudders are too tall to remove once the vessel is blocked. If we work efficiently with the yard crew we can avoid a second lift (which is an additional charge for our customers).

Once the rudders were removed the bearings were carefully inspected. Everything was within specification (the vessel is only three years old). The problem was in the packing. The manufactured used Teflon packing in a traditional stuffing box. The rudders were a constant leaking annoyance for the crew and someone had overtightened the packing gland. It is possible to torque down the packing gland with Teflon packing to the point where the rudders will not move.

We clean all components and repacked with more traditional flax packing. Once everything was re-hung the rudders turned without any effort at all.

Major Alignment Finished on 111′ Inace

Chris — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:41:37 +0000

: 111′ Inace Heading for the Water

We recently wrapped up a few months of work on this 111′ Inace. She required a full engine alignment – moving the front mounts as much as an inch. In addition, the exit tube bearings were out and required a float alignment to get everything in order. This project was complicated by the presence of a Vulcan spool and vibration dampener that required some servicing and spare parts from Italy. Our on-site machine shop handled the Vulcan rebuild to ensure that all of the tolerances were within specification. If you are a few thousandths of an inch off on a 500 pound spool you will get a lot of unnecessary movement in the running gear.

When she first hauled out there were concerns with too much movement at the shaft coupler and the Tides Seal was leaking well before the life expectancy. For our process, any movement at the coupler is too much movement.

Once the work was completed we went on a mandatory sea trial. Everything was smooth and dry. Another nice job finished on schedule.

Optical Scope Alignments – High and Low

Chris — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:14:23 +0000

Sometimes you need to be Tall

: Sometimes you need to get low

Boats come in all shapes and sizes. Some tall and some short. A 111′ Brazilian-made Inace required an engine alignment and cutlass bearing alignment to eliminate the shaft hopping that was visably apparent at the Tide seal. Due to the keel and underbody configuration, the shafts are a bit higher than normal. A little creative thinking to set up a rock solid machinist stand and a local block was all that was needed to perform the optical scope process for the engine alignment. This is in sharp contrast to scoping the little 38″ Pearson “True North” as reported earlier this year. Sometimes you need to get low.