Stress crack on skeg( pic included)

[albertjizhang]

Hey guys

I grinded a small spot of rot on the Skeg and found these. The crack stretches around 20cm, And I think the core is rotten, at least it looks hollow to me. And since the crack is in such awkward position, do you think it’s necessary to take the rudder down and rebuild the Skeg? The crack is on one side of the Skeg, and it’s right next to the rudder stock. And on the rear of the Skeg it’s kind of curvy to fit the stock.

Please give me some thoughts and suggestions. Thanks!

[albertjizhang]

My grinding skill is nonexistent, please ignore that. I promise I’ll work on it

[simer]

It is like tooth cavity , you have to remove all rotten core and cracked laminate. After you end up with healthy remains build it up from inside out and use epoxy for added strength.

[deblen]

My opinion : I don't believe you can do a proper permanent repair without removing the rudder. To do a proper repair you will need to wrap grp cloth around the vertical rear edge of skeg-port to stbd. Also you will probably need to grind in this rear edge of skeg.
As others have said-to do a proper repair,you must cut,chisel & grind until you get to solid existing material.
If you can't remove the rudder now.you may get by for a season by just patching the crack for now.
Cheers/Len

[tkeithlu]

Ditto on Simer's post.

Odd place for a stress crack.

Follow the crack out the sides of the skeg. You've got a crack and delamination in a very protected spot - between the rudder and the skeg, and it's not at the attachments for the rudder.

[JPA Cate]

Interesting comment, about it being an odd place for a stress crack. That was my thought, too when I first saw it, and went on to wonder about a plain old flaw in the layup, period. Then I decided to let wiser heads reign.

Ann

[Spot]

Hi Albert,
-is this on the Dufour 35?
-are you in a hurry to get back in the water?
-Does it get below freezing where the boat is?
It usually helps to have boat make/model/location in your profile or post
It also helps to include a tape measure, glove, bottle of beer, etc for scale in one of the pics.

[maine50]

To the poster--where are you located? could you have some water in skeg & it froze, causing stress crack?

[albertjizhang]

Originally Posted by Spot

Hi Albert,
-is this on the Dufour 35?
-are you in a hurry to get back in the water?
-Does it get below freezing where the boat is?
It usually helps to have boat make/model/location in your profile or post
It also helps to include a tape measure, glove, bottle of beer, etc for scale in one of the pics.

-yeah it is on the Dufour 35
- not really, it’s in the meds, maybe a couple days in a year that gets below zero
-thanks for the heads up

[Searles]

Do you want to patch it up ,and maybe loose your rudder if it fails ,that skeg holds the lower bearing vitally important to your steering,answer yes drop the rudder clean inside and out ,grind clean to good glass ,if the skeg is hollow fill it with something verry solid ,fitted hardwood and epoxy come to mind ,not something to ignor.⛵️⚓️

[Manateeman]

What is that black stuff...Oil? Is there a sump forward of this crack?
Any evidence of a grounding? If you disconnect the steering, does the rudder move evenly? Sand off the antifouling further and look for a old repair.
Stress crack from what stress ? Looks like delamination, this isn’t a chainplate.
We would definitely drop the rudder.
Mark

[Stewie12]

I would drill a hole in the bottom of the skeg to get any water out.

[Rumrace]

The Joint looks tight but at sometime I think a tree branch got hung up a gave it a bang.
I’d need 6 bottles of beer and audience lawn chairs to watch the repair and repeat system west preachings.

[albertjizhang]

Here is some update.
There was water in the Skeg. I grounded the lower part and water streamed out.
I was wondering, the entire inside looks kind of black to me, are they all rotten? Is there a way to tell? They don’t look peeling or crumbling to me but they definitely are black(probably because of the sea water trapped in it.) do I need to grind them down too?
Also, the Skeg is hollow, I’m thinking about filling the whole thing with epoxy to make it solid. That be correct right? Thanks

[c.K.]

Originally Posted by albertjizhang

My grinding skill is nonexistent, please ignore that. I promise I’ll work on it

hey Albert
Taking down the rudder may be the best option, you could then grind out and down the entire length on the skeg and overlap port to starboard with a few layers 4'' to 6'' mat peel ply.... done use thick epoxy filler to fair first all in one shot good luck