J42 Rudder Bearing

[Mike Arntz]

Hello J owners - We had a lower rudder bearing failure and are trying to determine cause and the best bearing to replace it with.  The failed bearing was a Jefa that was installed approximately 1 year ago.  We did a major passage from Seattle to Hawaii, almost all hand steering under heavy seas and wind conditions, lots of spinnaker sailing.  Very little sailing since but after an intense day of sailing in Hawaii, the bearing completely failed.  We have not hauled the boat yet but have done a dive inspection and it appears the bearing is completely gone.  Just before the bearing failure, we heard loud squeaking when turning the wheel.  After failure, the rudder post was completely free.  Boat will be hauled soon so we can drop the rudder and do a more thorough inspection.  

A couple of questions I am trying to get answers to in order to decide what to replace the bearing with.  Has anyone had similar experience and in particular, with a Jefa bearing (everything I read gives them very positive reviews)?  Does anyone know what type of bearing was included originally on J42s?  Would a J42 take a different bearing than a J120? Any experience with an Edson rudder bearing  and stuffing box on a J42?

Thanks,

Mike

[Todd Stevens]

I have no experience with rudder bearings, but I wonder if yours was the self-aligning Jefa or not?  Reading between the lines of the Jefa literature I get the feeling that they came up with the self-aligning thing to solve a problem with their straight ones...  

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[Chris]

I installed self-aligning Jefa bearings two seasons ago and have been delighted with them. Of course Spice is out of the water half the year, so it's really about the same amount of time. When I bought it I was warned to make sure that I was careful about electrical connections - I thought of bottom-painting the rudder post above the bearing, and was warned against copper-based paint if I was going to do it, for example. There are also the quadrant and autopilot tiller arm to be kept away from the stainless collar the bearing rides on - any chance you have an opportunity for galvanic corrosion somewhere there?

https://www.jefa.com/electro-f.htm

I'll be very interested to hear what you find once you haul the boat, and what Jefa and/or PYI have to say about it, so please do let us know!

[Chris]

I have had a self-aligning Jefa for two seasons now and am delighted with it. Could it be a problem with galvanic corrosion? When I was buying my bearings I was warned to make sure that the rudder assembly was completely isolated from other metals on the boat - which I took to be easy since it's a composite post, but there is a stainless sleeve and a quadrant and an autopilot tiller arm - so it could happen by accident.

https://www.jefa.com/electro-f.htm

Any chance that was the cause?

Very disconcerting to have the bearing fail after a single season, that's for sure! I'm fairly certain that Jefa, or PYI, will help figure out what went wrong. Do let us know what you find out.

Regards,

Chris

On Sunday, April 5, 2026 at 4:36:48 PM UTC-3 Todd Stevens wrote: