Olson 34 rudder blisters

[JamesBlakeJones]

Listmates,
I own a 1989 Olson 34, hull number 24. Before I bought it, it had had a blister job on its hull. I don't know if they did anything to the rudder. The hull has held up well, with no blisters to date. The rudder is chock full of blisters, say dime to quarter size. I had them repaired once, don't know what they did, but the blisters came back. Anyone else had this problem? I don't suppose replacement rudders are available? Any ideas on the best way to have it repaired, so that it doesn't keep recurring?
Thanks in advance,
James Jones
Seattle
"Sunwood"

 

[Bill Robbins]

It sounds like "they" just ground out the pock marks filled the holes with a filler, sanded it and painted over them. This is done frequently, often with the results you describe.
To properly fix this rudder the surface fiberglass will need to be ground down ( below all pock marks ) and then reglassed.

The good news is that you can take the rudder out of the boat while it is in the water yourself and bring it home to do yourself or to a boat yard. This saves the expense of a haulout, and labor. The rudder will need to be out of the water for several weeks after you grind down the rudder in order for it to dry. If you keep it indoors this will be quick. A comprimise on doing it yourself and getting help would be for you to do the prep work and drying. Then let a yard glass it for you. Then you can finish sanding it and paint. I think it would take a good glass guy no more than 3-4 hours max to do the glass. The yard I use charges $70 / hour.
Good luck

 

[MarioBie]

Rudder Blisters

Hi

pls see me reply to E26 rudder delamination.
Its really not hard to do and once done correctly you shouldn't have more blister problems

Good luck
Mario