Rudder
vibration is another source of irritation in my book, usually caused by worn
rudder ports or packing not tight which in time causes wear, in any event if
this is the case, you could experience the cold sweats that come over you as
you notice your boat is missing, and then notice the antenna tips just
sticking out of the water, this is described as SINKING, not only the boat,
but your heart as you try to remember if the policy is current. Pleasure type boats without a skeg to support the bottom of the rudder
,depend on the through hull port which contains the packing to act as a
bearing, a built down (lobster type) hull with full keel has a rudder
bearing attached to the skeg. Rudder vibration is noticed more when turning
the helm hard down in either direction, this is caused by the prop-wash. A
conventional stuffing box should be allowed to drip a few drops a minutes,
this applies to rudder ports as well, some boats are equipped with drip less
boxes, they speak for themselves, but not to be ignored or forgotten .