Advice on repairing leaking gudgeon

[crisscan]

Originally Posted by Bluebeard

Of course, but faced with the problem, the only way of finding out how bad the internals are is to pull the rudder apart. On a forty year old boat? I would have to be convinced that it was about to fail on me before I did that.

I'm sorry to be so naive, but please explain why?

Also just a big thank you Uncivilized, boatpoker, Bluebeard, captsteve23, and topmast for your time and for the tips.

[DeepFrz]

That trip down the West Coast wouldn't be considered "coastal sailing" in my books. That water can be rough and making that trip with a rudder of unknown condition would scare the hell out of me.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

That trip down the West Coast wouldn't be considered "coastal sailing" in my books. That water can be rough and making that trip with a rudder of unknown condition would scare the hell out of me.

Yep, me too. I was thinking the same thing. Especially as I've seen the 1st of the winter storms roll in up there at the beginning of September. So watch your weather window. And it would pay to start checking on the long range forecasting weather indicators now. The one's which tell you how much "juice" has/is being put into the "batteries" which fuel the storms up there.

Sea temps, locations of various currents, trends in prevailing winds, locations of the big high & low pressure cells in relation to their norm's for this time of year. And rainfall's another one, such as in SE Alaska. As are temp. trends at various inland locations which significantly impact said weather patterns.

[jimbunyard]

While no-one can tell for sure from a single picture, unless by 'coastal cruising' the surveyor meant within the Puget Sound area, and not the open coastal ocean north or south of Cape Flattery, and especially if you're new to boating, I might be searching for a new surveyor...

At the very least, the rudder shoe needs to be pulled, which will tell you several things; what is the condition of the rudder pintle or shaft, is the deadwood that the shoe is secured to wood or fiberglass, and its' condition (I'm assuming the boat is fiberglass), what are the condition of the fasteners, etc.

When you say 'leak', is water pooling inside the hull, where it can be pumped out, or is it being absorbed by the core material where the rudder shoe is fastened?

As noted, the prop is also a mess and should be checked for de-zincification.

The 4108 is a good reliable engine and from the couple of pictures of it, it looks fairly well maintained. There is a lot of corrosion around the raw water pump that needs to be looked at as it probably indicates a leaking cover plate, and an impeller check and (probably) change would be a good, inaugural introduction to engine maintenance...

[bletso]

I had the very same problem. Here is how I fixed it, (I hope).
Gudgeon Leak | Sailing Vessel Vigah

You will have to remove the gudgeon. I originally thought I could just fill it up with 5200, but it didn't do the job.

[tinkrman69]

Hello Crissan

The part you have marked on the keel is the shoe it can also be referred to as a gudgeon. the one above it is also a gudgeon. the pintle is the part that fits into it. the fasteners that hold it to the keel will be under the glass and will need to be removed to allow the rudder to be taken out.....along with ( possibly the gudgeon that might be in place above the cutaway for the prop, I noticed some signs of leakage from there.) quadrant...if wheel steering...and packing gland and packing and/or anything else attached to the rudder post. make sure you support the rudder whilst removing the shoe. it is quite heavy. you'll need to remove the rudder to fix it properly.

I've repaired a few rudders and built a couple in my time. they are not that big a deal to do them right. some of the fix's mentioned above can work and not work, if it is not DRY, inside. also make sure to inspect the rudder post where it comes out at the top of the rudder. one of those repairs mentioned was a sheared post due to oxidation.

as far as the advice on weather it is safe to sail from WA to CA......HHHHHMMMMMMM IMHO anyone answering that, with out being able to lay hands on THAT rudder and THAT boat, doesn't really care if you ................
There are too many things to take into account to judge that over the internet. Ask around the yard, the other boaters in the yard and the staff. look at some of the other comparable boats. there is a lot of force on the rudder whilst underway...hell just sittin' at anchor in a blow.

Take the advice of your surveyor and have it inspected. the more informed a decision is the better.

Hope this was helpful. Good luck
Lance

[crisscan]

Massive thank you to everyone for such valuable advice. We had the good fortune of meeting the captain who did her delivery for owner prior, and as luck would have it, owns a service and is also working on his boat in the yard. He looked at her and gave us some options (some of which were provided on this thread), but overall we should be able to sail her down. Scrubbed off some of the gunk with wire brush, and hopefully inside is not as dire. But we will find out once we start working on it.