Hunter Rudder Post Glue?

[feudalkaos]

On my Hunter 410 at the top of the rudder post where the steering quadrant attaches, there seems to be a black sleeve which is bonded to the fiberglass rudder shaft. The bonding material (glue?) seems to have failed. See the attached photo for reference.

Does anyone know how this is constructed? What kind of bonding material is used?

Anyone with a Hunter 410 know if the rudder will sink or float? Wonder if this is something I can work on without hauling out.

I am looking to detach the quadrant from the rudder to try and do some repairs on this.

Since the bonding material has failed, it now slips slightly when we steer which adds a lot of play to the steering and I'm sure it is putting stress in places it shouldn't.

[tkeithlu]

Quote " it now slips slightly when we steer"

Let's re-thnk this for a moment. If that assembly is slipping, the failure is likely to be that the pin going through the rudder shaft is egging because the clamp is not really clamping the steering arm to the rudder shaft.

You've got a spade rudder, so nothing is supporting it at the bottom. That calls for a haulout, disassembly, and repair.

While we're not taliking immediate danger, this is not one to ignore, because the eventual failure leaves you without steering or perhaps without a rudder.

[Greatest Lakes]

Looks like it was undersized and someone attempted to shim it with wood. That's a seriously shoddy design. I'd be tempted to pull the pin. Insert a milled aluminum plug, then drill it for the pin. Other option, that could be done with everything in place, get a chunk of cushion foam, something you could squeeze past the pin, but would then fit snugly. Fill the top end of the rudder post with west systems epoxy mixed with microballons. It would set up like stone, but be less brittle. You could add strand fiberglass to the epoxy if you wanted to take it a little further. That would keep the tube from crushing further. Those cracks shouldn't be there. It's hard to tell how big the gap between the black tube and the fiberglass portion is, but if you can get epoxy into it that would help. You can also use thin superglue ( hobby lobby or similar) and baking soda to make a very tough adhesive filler. (Mind the fumes).

[tkeithlu]

Greatest Lakes, in this case I really can't see atempting a repair that does not involve removing the quadant and solving the issue of the clamp and pin not gripping the shaft tightly. It looks like there is no more space for the clamping bolts to tighten. The hole through the shaft has got to be egged for the arm to be slipping.

Minimum it needs to be drilled out one size over, replaced, and then the faces of the clamp sanded down before tightening. It's possible the rudder shaft can be held in place through all that, such that a haulout is not necessary. Given the forces involved, I don't see a repair through molding in super epoxy/polymer stuff.

Ugh. One more not so pleasant thought: What caused all this to happen? Could it have started with impact damage to the rudder, such that the shaft is bent?

[Tetepare]

A new rudder should float. But they are notorious for saturation, in which case at best it would be neutral. Let’s just say don’t drop it in deep water.