I recently bought a 27 foot Ericson. (first boat ever). It needs a lot of work. One of the pressing issues I have is with a damaged rudder. When I pulled the boat out of the water last fall, I noticed cracks, water dripping and some area's with previous bad repair jobs. I listened to a couple of guys at the club who told me to remove the rudder, drill a few holes in it to drain the water, then once dry plug the holes and refiber glass the whole thing. Now that it's spring, I'm at the point of trying to refiberglass, but I've never done anything like this before. Is it an easy job for a beginner or something I should call a profession in on? I live in the southeast Michigan area. If this needs an experts touch, can anyone recommend someone?
Rudder repair
- Thread starter saabbob
- Start date
tenders
Innocent Bystander
There are many threads about this here. The key is "once dry." Is it really dry? In my experience the foam in the rudder doesn't / can't really dry. You can patch it pretty much indefinitely but at some point it won't be shaped much like a rudder any more and there is some risk of the weakened piece breaking. But, also in my opinion, the rudder construction is probably stronger than one might think, even soaking wet.
This might not be a great project to learn epoxy/fiberglass technique as it's below the water line and out of sight. You could ask a pro for an estimate, but if it's more than a couple of hundred bucks keep in mind that you're getting on the way towards a new rudder from Foss (see also other info on this site about them).
This might not be a great project to learn epoxy/fiberglass technique as it's below the water line and out of sight. You could ask a pro for an estimate, but if it's more than a couple of hundred bucks keep in mind that you're getting on the way towards a new rudder from Foss (see also other info on this site about them).
I followed your advice and had the rudder repaired by a professional. Glad I did. The rudder looks great. I painted it. I tried to install it yesterday. I had two issues:
- When I pulled the rudder last fall, a bronze shim came out with it. I figured it was important so I tried to reinstall it along with the rudder. It won't fit. Any suggestions?
- Tried installing the rudder (without the shim). I had trouble getting the bolt to go all the way through both sides of the rudder post as well as where the tiller connects to it. Somehow I managed to damage the threads so I was unable to attach the nut to hold it all together. Can I replace the bolt with something from the hardware store or does it require a special bolt?
tenders
Innocent Bystander
The term "shim" can mean a bunch of things...from a thin sheet of metal wrapped around the rudder to keep it from bumping against the rudder tube, to a round disk of metal to allow something to swivel while hanging, to a random piece of metal to stop wobbling. Do you have a photo?
In replacing the fastener you want to make sure you've got the right metal. Is it stainless? If so I'd recommend a Grade 5 (three slash marks on the hex head, if it's a cap screw or bolt) or Grade 7. Home Depot usually sells ungraded fasteners so you might have to go to a hardware store with higher-quality material. If it's bronze, good luck finding locally; you might have luck if there's a Fastenal nearby but you might solve the problem sooner going straight to boltdepot.com.
In replacing the fastener you want to make sure you've got the right metal. Is it stainless? If so I'd recommend a Grade 5 (three slash marks on the hex head, if it's a cap screw or bolt) or Grade 7. Home Depot usually sells ungraded fasteners so you might have to go to a hardware store with higher-quality material. If it's bronze, good luck finding locally; you might have luck if there's a Fastenal nearby but you might solve the problem sooner going straight to boltdepot.com.
The shim or bushing is a thin piece of sheet metal. Sorry I don't have a picture. I tried removing the rudder and inserted the shim into the rudder tube thinking the rudder tube might be a little larger than the top or bottom of the tube. I then reinstalled the rudder, but the rudder shaft just pushed the shim out the top.
p.s. I was able to rethread the tip of the bolt and installed it just fine.