Rudder trouble?

[Chumpy36]

I got a chance to clean up the rudder today and saw that it appears to be delaminating at the upper connection?

Is there a fix for this? Does it need to be fixed?

Thanks!

[Tsunami]

Is the beige area discolored gelcoat or is the gelcoat missing?

[Chumpy36]

It’s missing. Seems to have flaked off

[Tsunami]

Wow, that looks nasty! Could you post some more photos?
Maybe close ups at an angle to give us an idea of depth?

[Chumpy36]

Here are more pics

[Jimmyt]

Is that a polymer rudder? It doesn't look like fiberglass (original) construction.

Looks like an after market replacement HDPE with cheek plates to get the correct thickness. Sumner has a good summary of the construction of various iterations of these rudders... His were for an S, but I think the construction was likely similar across the models.

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner ... ics-3.html

[Chumpy36]

It sure seems to me like it is not
Fiber glassed. The material seems to be like delrin or cutting board material.

I didn’t realize it wasn’t stock (first Mac I’ve owned)

[Jimmyt]

It sure seems to me like it is not
Fiber glassed. The material seems to be like delrin or cutting board material.

I didn’t realize it wasn’t stock (first Mac I’ve owned)

See my edit above. Probably from IDA Sailor.

[Starscream]

See my just-now post on your hatch crack. 105 West System, 206 Hardener, 406 Colloidal Silica

I'd use the same stuff to repair the rudder, but would do some research first to see if the bond to the rudder material will be OK.

If I was going to use my suggested repair materials on an HDPE (or similar) rudder, I'd be tempted to drill a few additional holes through the rudder, and sand down the rudder a bit on the opposite side. That way the epoxy resin would fill the holes and sanded valleys, and grip on to the rudder mechanically instead of just chemically. Kind of like building a rivet out of epoxy, with several through-holes, if you know what I mean. Like a Ti-Fighter shape from Star Wars, with multiple cross-beams between the "wings" going through the rudder.

This is even more of a "just what I'd do" post than usual, for me. I have no practical experience that says the bond with whatever material your rudder is would be OK. However, having used this material in multiple areas, if I was faced with the same problem, this is what I'd try first. YRMV.

And, since you'll already have the materials on hand after repairing the hatch so perfectly, why not give it a try?

[Chumpy36]

Great stuff. Thanks

I assume you mean mechanically "connect" both sides of the rudder by drilling through to both sides when I make the repair?

I assume since this is already coming off I ought to take the rest of what's flaking off?

I'll ask the manufacturer if I can ID the rudder per above.

Thanks!

J

[Starscream]

Great stuff. Thanks

I assume you mean mechanically "connect" both sides of the rudder by drilling through to both sides when I make the repair?

I assume since this is already coming off I ought to take the rest of what's flaking off?

I'll ask the manufacturer if I can ID the rudder per above.

Thanks!

J

It's hard to really give advice without having the piece in my hands. But yeah, I'd sand down both sides of the rudder down into valleys that I could fill with the epoxy, and drill multiple small holes connecting the two valleys so that the future dried epoxy will have connector "tubes" running from one side of the rudder to the the other. I wouldn't rely on the epoxy properly adhering to a sanded-out valley. I don't think that the epoxy and HDPE (or whatever it is) adhere in the same way as epoxy and fiberglass.

It may be possibly/advisable to roughen up the surface of the valley, if possible, before applying the epoxy. A heavy grit sandpaper, or even cross-hatching with a tool, could help, but once again, I don't have direct experience in the effectiveness of this advice.

[Chumpy36]

Got it. Thx!

[NiceAft]

It kind of looks like one of those IDA rudders that were popular here awhile ago.

[Jimmyt]

See my just-now post on your hatch crack. 105 West System, 206 Hardener, 406 Colloidal Silica

I'd use the same stuff to repair the rudder, but would do some research first to see if the bond to the rudder material will be OK.

That would be my concern. I don’t think HDPE bonds with epoxy. If not, cross-drilling the HDPE could weaken it significantly. Some of the aftermarket rudders were made of HDPE.

Since those are cheek plates to increase thickness, you could use epoxy to build them. But, I’d use the existing cheek plate screws to bond to in lieu of cross-drilling.

Cross-drilling would definitely be better if the epoxy would bond to HDPE.

It looks like the rudder is getting long in the tooth anyway, so try something and get another season or two. You could grind all of the cheek plates off and screw on some more. HDPE isn’t hard to find. But, Starscream’s epoxy approach would be good too (investigate bonding before cross-drilling).

In any event, post what you do and how it works! Good luck.

[Chumpy36]

Hi y’all. I spoke With the nice people at ruddercraft (used to be ida sailor). They are investigating if it’s their rudder. Guy said if it was it was pretty old. Once I hear back with their recs I’ll update here.

As of now I’m inclined to build out the thickness with more hdpe and bolt it back together. Might be nice to have a spare rudder so getting a new one might make some sense.