E28+ rudder water intrusion (maybe)

[Gary G]

The rudder on my 1983 E28+ has two blisters on it about the size of a half dollar (if anyone remembers what those look like). They are about halfway down the rudder on opposite sides near the centerline and just about directly across from each other. One is weeping a little. I'm planning to grind them away and fill them but someone recommended I also drill a hole in the very bottom of the rudder to allow any water that might be in it to drain. Has anyone here gone through something similar? If I should drill a hole or two how large should the holes be and how far up into the rudder should I drill them? Also, any advice on how to best refill them would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Gary

 

[Frank Langer]

Gary,
The purpose of drilling a couple of holes in the bottom of the rudder is to allow any water to drain out. So the holes don't need to be large, but should be at the bottom of the rudder (you don't want to leave any water in there), just up a bit from the bottom base skin which will be fibreglass--ie. you want to drill into the foam section. I would use a 1/4" drill bit, easily filled later with epoxy, marine tex, or similar stuff. Collect any water that comes out in a small pail to see if there is any rust discoloration and any smell. If there is rust, it would tell me that the metal frame inside the rudder is rusting, and therefore possibly weakened. Similarly, a bad smell would be a clue that not all is well in there. Most rudders have a metal frame welded to the rudder post, the outside shell is fibreglass, and the inside is filled with foam. If there is more than just a bit of water in there, the foam is likely wet and should be replaced--ie. a rudder rebuild. There are various posts on the website showing how people rebuilt their rudders; if you don't want to tackle it yourself, Foss is a company in California that is most often recommended and seems to do good work.
Good luck! Let us know what you find.

Frank

 

[Gary G]

Thanks, Frank. This was exactly the kind of guidance I need. I'll post results after I've had a chance to get out there.

Cheers,

Gary

 

[frick]

Water in Rudder

Last winter I did a repair on my E29 Rudder (1971) I contemplated a new rudder from Foss Foam, but decided to try the West Epoxy plan A Method.

First from back ground. Foss made my rudder when it was new. The foam is a closed cell foam that does not absorb water. I have water infiltrate down the runner post. Then i the Winter it will freeze, and compress the foam. This means that more water get in the next year, and you can see where this is going...

I drilled about 50 holes per side, and stopped long before I got to the bottom. Most of my water was at the bottom of the rudder post and workings its way around the fiberglass skin. By drilling the holes I could Shop Vac out the most of the water.... Then I placed the rudder next to my boiler and rotated every few days, and would shop vac it again. By spring it was bone dry.

I was able to isolate many of the mandrills or cage that was welded onto the rudder post. I created mushroom shape under the fiberglass skin and pumped 3M 5200 into those holes. Other that where just foam, I refilled with more foam. When all the holes where filled, I fiber-glassed the holes, then used 2 part epoxy primer over the whole rudder and new renewed the bottom paint.

The hard part of the whole job was taking off the old bottom paint... and deciding to drill the holes. After than it was an easy fix.
Rick+

http://www.epoxyworks.com/12/rudder.html