My rudder broke on my 1981 Ericson 38. Original rudder had been modified at some point though the cause had to do with corrosion internally at the end of the post. (Might have been the overpowered reach I was on as well)
Mark F: the answer to your question will be a bit twisted/tortured, as the rudder that snapped was a new rudder built onto the OEM tube & frame. This was done by Foss foam in CA. The OEM tube, circa 1989, welded (2) 3.5' lengths of 2" ss tube to create (1) 7' tube...with a fatal flaw waiting to snap. I was not made aware of the welded tube by Foss, they just received the rudder, stripped the skin and rebuilt it. Ignorance was bliss, until it snapped and we rolled on our side...
Finco Fabrication, also in CA, built the NEW rudder and stated that they would never, ever, have reused the existing welded tube for 2 reasons:
1. they've proven internally that stripping the OEM skin and foam is not cost effective, so there's no value in reusing the existing rudder stock
2. a welded tube will not accept the repeated load cycles and is therefore not worth the risk, and shouldn't have been an option in 1989
This rudder snapped as we raced in benign conditions, 'champagne sailing' at its best, 1:30 PM, warm temps, flat water, off wind, under asymmetric kite, 6+ knots of boat speed. 11 hours later, well after we'd been towed into harbor (and as we were tearing up The Sand Bar in Ludington MI, blowing off steam and frustration)), lake conditions exploded into 8-footers, 25 knot north wind gusting to 30+, with boat carnage affecting the entire fleet, forcing over 100 boats to retire. 'There but for the grace of god'...applies. We got lucky, very lucky.
Hope this gets to you, the 'reply' function with notification is a bit funky. Take care.
