Rudder Repair

[Pnickoiler]

Hello all,

Last summer our rudder snapped while we were sailing. We saved the broken piece and have been trying to engineer a repair or find a way to create a new rudder. Does anyone have any experience replacing a rudder? We were thinking of using a piece of marine plywood and shaping it and sealing it. Would that work? We've also been searching for boat yards and on Craigslist attempting to find an new rudder/tiller combo but that's proven unsuccessful. Any ideas on good places for parts in the Central MA/Cape Cod areas? Thanks!

[Hydra]

I would suggest taking patterns from the existing pieces, removing all the wood from the stock, to build a new rudder shaped according to the patterns, then covering the plywood with a few layers of glass cloth and epoxy, to add strength and protect the wood from water ingress.

Alain

[ohdrinkboy]

Never used these guys, but they might be a good source...

http://newrudders.com

[Pnickoiler]

Excellent! Thanks so much. We'll definitely check out that website. We visited a West Marine store today and the staff recommended plywood covered in fiberglass and epoxy as well. Thanks for your help! Happy sailing! :-)

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Pnickoiler.

I second Foss Foam.

[Shorty]

D&R Marine in Assonet MA made the new rudder for my Pearson 34 a few years ago. Good work.

[heron237]

For replacing balsa core, I like 5 lb. rigid urethane, usually use Airex. For a rudder core I like to use a high density closed cell like 10 lb. or even 15 lb. Airex. Once you get up to 15 lb. it becomes very hard to shape. A powerplane still makes quick work of it though. The higher density has superior impact absorption and rigidity. 15 lb. is hard to dent with a hammer. If you go up to 25 lb. it's like cement, you can't cut it with regular blades anymore.