I finally got all the hurricane mooring gear and extra outboard and whatnot out of the lazaret so I could remove the decking to look in on the rudders and give the cable system a good lube job from flybridge to rudder quadrant. I was NOT pleased with what I found. In years past, after a steering system lube, I could propel the helm from one stop to the other with one hefty throw of the wheel - now it goes half way. Some years ago (Jan 1993) I had the stbd rudder table rebuilt in stainless after finding it bound up and corroded. By the way, "Rudder Table" is what the boat yard foreman here calls the structure supporting the upper rudder bearing about 12-15 inches above the packing gland where the rudder post comes through the hull. The original was galvanized steel and was pretty ratty at the time. Now I find the port side in dire need of renewal, but the other troubling thing I discovered when I removed the cables and connecting rod from the stbd rudder (the "master" you could call it) was that the port rudder swung around like a loose door while I could not kick the stbd rudder around. It was REALLY bound up, and I could hear it groaning at the lower station when I turned the helm in the slip with all machinery off. The original bearing had been put back on the table, and that may be part of the problem. After lots of sprayed in PB Blaster and lubricants of one kind and another, it is considerably loosened, but it is still way tighter than the port rudder. I backed off the packing nut all the way off to ensure that too-tight packing was not the issue. The nearby boatyard foreman came over today (helps to be personally acquainted with the owner) and took the measurements to get started building a new stainless steel port rudder table. New stainless, self-aligning bearings will be placed on both rudder tables. They will have zerk fittings, unlike the current junk. One day to do the work in a few weeks, when everything is in place, and 1 BU is the estimate. If your rudder tables are plain old steel and in places like mine, it is hard to take good care of them when the rudder packings tend to leak, as mine USED to. Still and all, I guess 33 years of function in that environment down there is not a bad track record. I told the wife it will seem like power steering once this is done. Rich Gano CALYPSO (GB-42-295) Southport, FL (Panama City area)