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Sleeping with a Wheel; Rudder Noise in Cabin

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MartinJW
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USA
241 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/24/2009 : 12:06:09

My wife and I like to sleep in the aft berth, under the cockpit, which is, of course, immediately adjacent to the transom, rudder, and steering system. (Note that we have a wheel, not a tiller on our boat.)

The problem is that the gentle swinging and click-clicking of the rudder - that you hear from the cockpit - at night sounds more like SLAMMING and BANG-BANGING from this berth. It's so loud that we can hardly sleep sometimes while at anchor.

We've tried attaching the emergency tiller to the rudder and securing the tiller with a line, and this helps quite a bit, but it's still pretty loud inside.

Anyone else have a noisy aft berth? (I can imagine some comedy potential here, which will be appreciated, but I'm also really looking for a solution to this.)

Thanks!

Martin

C25/250 Int'l Ass'n Member
2008 C-250 WK #973
"Bluebell"
Lake Tahoe, CA/NV

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essen48183
Navigator

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USA
143 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2009 : 13:36:50

Did you try locking the wheel brake? If you don't have one, it's an easy install (and essential to singlehanding)

http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/3750-pedestal-steering-brake-from-edson-corporation.html

I've seen them from time to time for less than $100 on ebay motors.

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2009 : 13:43:54

Martin... The tension adjustment on the cables should be such that when the rudder is hard over, the cables and chain on the sprocket should not have slack. Because no arc compensation is employed, there will however be some slack at center rudder. So, tension the cables properly and then at anchor move the rudder hard over and bungee it, the wheel or both in place and the noise problem should be gone.

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MartinJW
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USA
241 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2009 : 21:45:15

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Arlyn Stewart
 Martin... The tension adjustment on the cables should be such that when the rudder is hard over, the cables and chain on the sprocket should not have slack. Because no arc compensation is employed, there will however be some slack at center rudder. So, tension the cables properly and then at anchor move the rudder hard over and bungee it, the wheel or both in place and the noise problem should be gone.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Thanks, Arlyn.

We normally "lock" the wheel/rudder in the straight-ahead position, which would leave some slack as you've pointed out. I'll try moving the wheel hard over and locking the brake all the way. I'll also check the cable tension; the boat is now two years old, and no doubt the cables have stretched a bit.

Thanks again,
Martin

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 07/24/2009 : 22:55:06

Is there a way to bungee the rudder tight so it takes out the slop?

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2009 : 07:31:04

Martin, we also have wheel steering. That noise from the rudder also happens, I believe, with tillers as well. The noise is from the pintle/gudgeon connection. Recently we were sleeping out on our boat and that noise bugged my wife more then me so she got up in the middle of the night, turned the rudder all the way to one side and locked the wheel. End of noise.

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MartinJW
Navigator

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USA
241 Posts

Response Posted - 07/25/2009 : 09:09:43

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nautiduck
 Martin, we also have wheel steering. That noise from the rudder also happens, I believe, with tillers as well. The noise is from the pintle/gudgeon connection. Recently we were sleeping out on our boat and that noise bugged my wife more then me so she got up in the middle of the night, turned the rudder all the way to one side and locked the wheel. End of noise.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Thanks, Randy.

This is great. The ironic thing here is that I've been doing the wrong thing all along: I've been locking the wheel/rudder in the centered position. As Arlyn pointed out, this leaves the greatest slack in the cables and allows the most movement of the rudder and pintle/gudgeon "rattling".

I'll try this next time we spend the night on the boat.

Thanks again,
Martin

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zebra50
Captain

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USA
408 Posts

Response Posted - 07/26/2009 : 07:56:52

I had problems with my tension, after 8 yrs with the Edson wheel. When originally purchased from dealer, Papas Boat had tiller steering. I changed after 2 years and love the wheel. They make a great accessory-stainless take-up eye, which makes the adjustment a breeze (pun). It helps with tension adjusment and centering and keeps the line tight no matter which way the wheel is turned. You can find it at
http://www.edsonmarine.com/marinestore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=270

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