rudder edge damage

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rudder edge damage

Postby calden » Wed May 17, 2006 11:46 am

Hey all:

After my second sailing of the season (and second trip with my new used DS) I noticed the rudder had water sloshing around inside. Hmmm, I thought, this can't be correct. Upon inspection I saw that the rear edge of the rudder was abraded for an area about 3-4" long, and the plywood/glass seam was separated a bit, about 1/16". Not much, but enough to let water into the hollow interior.

Without putting the rudder and outboard back on the boat to check, I'm fairly certain that this problem is due to the rudder occassionally hitting up against the outboard prop. I can fix that, or at least be aware of it now, but here's my question...

I drained the water from the rudder, and am letting it dry before I seal it up with epoxy and maybe put a little cloth patch on it. How long should I let it dry? I can't tell how damp it may still be inside. We're having some record-setting high temps here (85-90) so I'm thinking three days, as much of it in the sun as possible, might do it. I've never worked with something like a big, dense heavy rudder before, that's full of plywood and fiberglass, so I don't really know if that's sufficient.

Any ideas as to a good drying time for this thing? Would it help to force some moving air into it?

I've thought of another option - drilling a couple of maybe 1/2" holes elsewhere in the rudder to help dry it, maybe via the forced-air method - then when the abraded edge region has been repaired, let it dry more - I won't be sailing for another two weeks - then plug those holes up before I get in the water again.

Suggestions?

Thanks much in advance. This is a great forum for having an older sailboat.

Carlos
DS I #1653
calden
 
Posts: 362
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:39 am
Location: Spokane, WA

forced air dry

Postby Roger » Wed May 17, 2006 11:44 pm

Carlos,

I had the same problem, (in the same area) this past year. I drilled two 1/4" holes, one at the top side of the rudder about 3" from the edge, and another on the other side near the bottom, again about 3" fromthe opposite edge to maximize cross flow. I then attached my shop vac to one hole, duct taped it snug around the hole and turned it on for about 20 minutes. Air rushed in the other side and removed all the moisture. I then put it under a heat lamp overnight, then did another suck the next day. I opened the damaged area with my dremmel tool, so that it was about an 1/8" wide and 1/8" deep, added gelcoat (and a bit of fg cloth threads soaked in gelcoat) into the crack and holes and sealed it up. Sanded, polished and done!

I took my centerboard apart this past winter to repair a 5" area on one side that had delaminated. To my surprise, there is no plywood in there. Or if there is, it was encased in fg cloth ribs around the edge and down the centre. I suspect that there is no plywood in the rudder either, so rot should not be a concern once you have sucked out the moisture.
Roger
 
Posts: 853
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 6:36 pm
Location: Ninette Manitoba

Postby calden » Thu May 18, 2006 12:46 am

Thanks, Roger.

That's pretty much what I thought of, so I'll get to work on it tomorrow. It may well be dry enough in our record heat already, but I'll drill a couple of small vent holes to move some air around, then patch it up after a day or two.

Carlos
DS I #1653
calden
 
Posts: 362
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:39 am
Location: Spokane, WA


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