Clean, degrease and then mask the area as best you can before you begin. I would use an appropriately sized "end mill" that matches the outside diameter of a stainless or bronze (not brass or copper) pipe nipple. 1/4" or 3/8th pipe nipple would be appropriate. Unlike a drill bit the end mill will drill a flat bottomed hole. You'll have to drill more slowly than with a standard drill bit. Of course you could drill a "pilot" with the appropriate sized standard drill bit and then follow it with an end mill. A drill bit will pull into the material where as a end mill will tend to need pressure. Care should be taken to feel for the change from fiberglass/nylon to the hard stainless of the rudder shaft. Any contact with the shaft has potential to create defects and all attempts should be made to minimize, however it is unlikely that incidental contact will cause detrimental damage. Stainless is quite hard. Once the hole is drilled the exact depth can more easily be determined. Choose a nipple length that is long enough to extend about 2 inches out of the rudder tube. A 3 inch nipple is probably right.
Once the hole is drilled, reclean and degrease the area. Now scuff/grind the surface of the rudder tube to fresh fiberglass. 100 grit is a good choice. When choosing the size of the hole, you could go one of two ways. Either friction fit the nipple in the hole, or plan to thread the hole with a tap. Having installed zirk fittings in my rudder tube I believe threading will be a challenge at best and probably not very secure. If I was doing it again I would go for a firm friction fit. Once the nipple is pressed into the hole to the full depth, mask the threads. Then use steel impregnated epoxy putty to pack around the nipple and create a "fillet" that extends at least 1 inch up the nipple and 1 inch on to the rudder tube all the way around. Isopropyl will allow you to create a really nice smooth transition on both the rudder tube and the nipple. Once cured, you can attach the appropriate fittings to transition to a zirk or hydraulic hose. Having left enough nipple extending out of the rudder tube will allow application of counter torque when attaching the fittings. I definitely support the use of a hydraulic hose. The hose makes it so much easier to apply grease and also do so without agitating the nipple and fittings. Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Sat, Mar 7, 2020, 22:15 Paul Hood via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > I tried to grease the rudder post on my '81 C&C34 last year and the nipple > when touched, fell out of the fibreglass and in my hands. I could see what > appeared to be the stainless rudder post through the hole. I was going to > enlarge the hole, put a larger stainless sleeve in first then insert a > nipple or a hose to a nipple. My questions is, can I drill out the > fibreglass, deep enough without damaging the shaft and when I epoxy the > sleeve in place, can it be done without having epoxy get into the shaft > area. Also, not knowing the construction, is there a bushing of some sort > wrapping the rudder post or does it just move in the fibreglass encasing > with grease. I'm hoping not to remove the rudder to do this. The rudder > moves freely and is not wobbly at all. I just want to get grease in there > and maintain this long term. > > Thanks, > Paul Hood > '81 C&C34 Georgian Bay > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each > and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - > use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray > >
_______________________________________________ Thanks everyone for supporting this list with your contributions. Each and every one is greatly appreciated. If you want to support the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray
