Rudder problems

[Richard Garlant]

I have lifted La Torchee out for winter repairs earlier than intended as we have suffered a rudder failure. The rudder has split horizontally with a large section below the prop having broken away.
Has anyone ever rebuilt their rudder and if so any suggestions or improvements would be most welcome.

Were there metal plates embedded in the fibreglass for stiffening?

Richard

[Ronar M]

Hi Richard,

I have not done this job myself but the previous owner of Ronar M had the rudder removed, split and the internal metalwork beefed up and rebuilt. From this I take it that there is some metalwork in the original spec. I have had no trouble since, though I now have oil/grease seeping form the gearbox in the lazarette and plan to have it off this winter and get Parsons/Mathway to service it – new oil seals at least. Good luck with your rudder,
Cheers, Trevor

[Richard Garlant]

Thanks Trevor. I will pull the rudder off this week and see about a stainless steel framework.

[Moderator]

Richard – that’s sobering news about your rudder.

In case you missed it, there was an earlier posting about rudder problems, including a photo of a dissected rudder down towards the bottom of the thread. See here.

Please keep us informed about what you learn. This is a project we plan to take on some day – hopefully as preventative maintenance rather than a repair after a catostrophic failure like yours!

Marilyn

[Richard Garlant]

Hi Marilyn

Thanks for the link that’s helped us see what we are up against. I think we settled on something in the mud that so prevalent in the Bristol Channel.
I have another question that you may be able to help with. I have recently purchased an Aries and was looking for some photos of the installation on a 38?

Richard

[Moderator]

Richard (or anyone else who has repaired their rudder) – can you report on what happened with your rudder repair? Any advice for those of us who plan to tackle this job before the rudder fails?

We hope to work on our rudder this winter. We are trying to decide if we should haul the boat, remove the rudder and split it open so we can try to dry it out over the winter and then do the repair in the spring. If the boat overwinters on the hard, then the hull will freeze occasionally during our Seattle winter, and we are worried that the freeze/thaw cycles will be bad if there is a lot of water absorbed into the hull (due to blisters, cracks, whatever)

If we plan to tear into the rudder so that we can replace the metal interior frame, it is important that the rudder has time to dry out? Or will we be doing so much destruction that most fiberglass will be new anyway, so it doesn’t matter?

Any advice welcome.

Cheers – Marilyn and Van

[Richard Garlant]

Hi Marilyn and Van. Our rudder actually snapped in half. We had to rebuild with metal framework and fibreglass. We are in Zanzibar at the moment for our son’s wedding but once we are back in the UK I will post some photos and a better description.

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