It shouldn't be too tight but shouldn't slop around either. About a year ago a lot of us went in on new rudder bearings. Not sure if #116 was one of the boats (or if a previous owner bought new bearings elsewhere) but this may be the problem you are seeing. It wouldn't hurt to get new bearings made for the boat. Though this may be a bit difficult now that we don't have a source for them again. You basically have to take the rudder out so they can fabricate bearings specifically for your boat. There was a lot of differences in the outer diameters of the bearings.

Hope this helps.

And when are you getting your boat out here to race???

-Jason

:: After purchasing 116 in March, before I sailed the boat
:: I decided to remove the rudder from the boat. I did this
:: because the rudder felt really tight and not totally
:: free to turn. Basically, I was affraid the tiller would
:: not be that sensative to feel the boat. Once I removed
:: the rudder from the boat I inspected and cleaned the
:: shaft as well as the derlin top and bottom bearings. I
:: reinstalled the rudder and did so by introducing a good
:: water capable grease to the shaft. After sailing the
:: boat for the first time I was ammazed still at how tight
:: the rudder felt in the boat although there was some
:: improvment. My question is this: Do all E27's have
:: 'tight' rudder shafts? Have people rectified the problem
:: with some solution and what is the solution. Has anyone
:: ever installed Harken or Edison rudder bearings?
::
:: Thanks for the info.