MasterCraft "rudder" question.

Talked to a fella that has an 1990 MasterCraft (19') inboard for sale at a reasonable price. The problem,,, he tells me the rudder bushing is worn badly and needs to be replaced. I've never owned a straight inboard and have no idea if replacing the bushings is a big thing or not.

Can anyone shed some light on it for me? Its too far a drive to simply go look at it.

Re: MasterCraft "rudder" question.

Never owned an inboard myself but apparently there's a Mastercraft forum. These guys are talking about doing complete rudder replacements in well under an hour, so I'd imagine the bushing can't be that hard.

http://www.mastercraft.com/teamtalk/archive/index.php/t-8305.html

There might be more directly relevant posts about the bushings if you dig around a bit.

Re: MasterCraft "rudder" question.

i've got a direct drive inboard...that shouldn't be too hard although i've never taken the rudder off a mastercraft. i've taken it off my boat before. the hardest part was getting access, the usual hard to reach bolts and pins.

previous owner may even be wrong, like that's never happened before huh?....anyway, my rudder uses grease.

Re: MasterCraft "rudder" question.

I don't know specifically what kind of stuffing box MasterCraft uses. If is is just a bushing it shouldn't be a big problem, as has been said, getting to it may be the biggest pain. I would want to check out that there is not eccessive wear to the rudder stock, which could require replacing the rudder (slim chance, but this would involve a good bit more $$ than just a bushing.) -- Why is the owner saying these bushings need replacing? Can you shake the bottom of the rudder back & forth, does it leak? If it is a traditional style stuffing box & leaking, a 1/4 turn with a wrench might be all it needs. I've got LOTS of inboard experience, just not with Mastercraft (sorry).

Re: MasterCraft "rudder" question.

I would suspect the owner did a few too many power slides with the boat. I know when I had my Malibu I was told to limit them, since they are hard on the rudder and prop shaft. Can't offer anything on the repair, though.