I wanted to test the Aries, having freed the bearings and reassembled it. It was a qualified success (the patient didn't die, but there was some chronic disability ...)
First of all: I couldn't figure out why the bearings had begun to seize up. The original nylon bearings were prone to swell in salt water, but I replaced these with acetal a few years ago. Anyhow, I used a round file to gently open them up until the servo paddle could rotate freely.
Then I saw a post (Stuart Banjo) on the Aries Facebook group - apparently, corrosion in the metal housing can compress the bearing and cause them to seize ... I'm too late to experiment with that I guess, as cleaning the corrosion now would leave mine too loose ... ?
Anyhow, the paddle now works perfectly. Except not quite - I managed to reassemble the gear one notch out. So it's off the boat again and on its way to my cellar workshop to correct this.
Then, finally, everything should be fine.
The weather has been weird, and 'Windy' a bit unreliable ... When I sailed on Friday I expected light conditions, but found myself close reaching into 20 knots of wind. Maybe a local anomaly? It didn't last long.
It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't optimistically left Lossiemouth dressed in shorts and a light shirt.
