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Rudder Leak/Replacement

Leon Sheean

Member II
I replaced the rudder on our 1988 32-200 this winter for $1100.00. It came from Foss which as I understand, made all of the OEM products.

Regarding water in the rudder stock, it seems to me (as I understand the situation) that if water is coming up the rudder shaft and over the top of the bearing, the hull would have to be at some extreem heel to be below the water line. I would suspect that many rudders leak, and that water can enter the bottom of the shaft. But to have water within the rudder shaft spill out under the heel of routine sailing, is hard for me to envision. Is there a possibility that the rudder shaft is cracked close to the heeled waterline and that the water marks around the quadrant may be from a leaking gasket on the emergency tiller access cover?
 

ChrisS

Member III
Thanks for your insight. The shaft looks fine (what I can see of it in the lazarette). I did sea trial the boat Sunday (just at motor with someone turning the boat agressively to heal the boat and put strain on the rudder assembly while I observed), and changing the packing helped tremedously. There isn't a constant stream of water as before, just some moisture--so maybe the water wasn't streaming out he the inside of the shaft. My next step will be to check the the tiller cover and rebed it, and when I haul the boat next summer I may pull the ruddder.

One mystery I am still trying to figure out is why only 1/4" packing would fit--not the 3/8" spec'd in the manual. It took me three trips to WM to get it right.

Did you reuse any of you old rudder when Foss built you the new one?
 

Emerald

Moderator
Hi Chris,

jumping in here a bit late, but a few thoughts regarding rudder rebuilding. I rebuilt mine two seasons ago, and Foss Foam was instrumental with helping me with some great advice via phone. As it turned out, many, but not all of the rudders on the Independence 31 were built by Foss. The long and short of it is if you are experienced with fiberglass repair, and have the time energy etc. for an intersting project, go for rebuilding it yourself. If you are not up to an intense fiberglass project, then send the whole thing to Foss and let them do it. For a complete description with photos of what it involved, check out my project page on this:

http://home.comcast.net/~independence31/rudder/rudder-intro.html

good luck, it's doable!
 

Leon Sheean

Member II
Foss Rudder Replacement

Hi Chris,

The order was sent to Foss to send a replacement, and this was done for $1100, including shipping. It fit perfectly and went in fine, according to my repair shop.
 
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