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Old 15-08-2020, 04:15   #1
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Rudder - small part oozing liquid

Dear boaters,

I have recently put my sailing boat on the hard for annual maintenance work. After scraping the old anti-fouling and putting new coat (including primer) I noticed that a small patch on the rudder had a reaction and spurted some goo. When I removed again the anti-fouling from the patch I noticed that there is some wetness oozing out.

I'm thinking of applying some epoxy and re-paint over it. Is this a good idea or is the problem a more sinister one? For reference, last year I put International Micron 99 and now I put Micron 350.

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated!
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Old 15-08-2020, 05:35   #2
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

More than likely your rudder foam is saturated with water. The next time you put it on the hard drill holes in the very bottom to drain as much out as you can. You'll never get all of it out. A more drastic approach requires splitting the rudder, removing the wet foam, injecting new foam and re-glassing things back together. Good luck.
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Old 15-08-2020, 05:55   #3
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

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Originally Posted by Afrakes View Post
More than likely your rudder foam is saturated with water. The next time you put it on the hard drill holes in the very bottom to drain as much out as you can. You'll never get all of it out. A more drastic approach requires splitting the rudder, removing the wet foam, injecting new foam and re-glassing things back together. Good luck.

Agree that it is water inside the rudder. It may not be that bad and you could drill some holes on the bottom to drain it. Check the top of the rudder near the shaft to see if it's cracked or the seal is pulled away from the rudder shaft. This is most likely the water entry point.


Check to see how much play you have in the rudder. If you can wiggle the rudder (keeping the wheel/tiller fixed), then your internal foam is water logged/disintegrating and should be replaced.


As described above is one approach to remove the foam or could cut a large panel out of the side and dig out the foam, add new foam and glass.
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Old 15-08-2020, 07:12   #4
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

The weak point is the internal metal structure. There are tangs or plates welded to the shaft, and the welds are not very corrosion resistant. When the welds let go you can't turn the rudder. That's the worse case scenario.
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Old 15-08-2020, 08:13   #5
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

You can do yourself what boatyards do with a saturated rudder on the hard.

Start by drilling holes in the bottom then a larger one to duct tape a wet vac hose to suck out the moisture. Leave the wet vac on for a day or two, let the rudder sit and dry as long as possible while you do other things while on the hard, then patch the holes with epoxy, cover with sealer, and paint.
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Old 15-08-2020, 08:32   #6
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

yep probably full of water. It will not dry out without opening up the rudder. I think there are a lot of water saturated rudders out there. Two of 5 boats I had were that way. Some didn't get checked! My guess is it comes in via the shaft exit, even though it is well laminated. You don't need to remove it to repair it:
-Saw the side of the rudder open with a Skil saw taking out a big rectangle.
-Save it.
-Dig out all the soggy foam and let it dry well.
-Inspect the metal structure.
-Make two 3/4" holes in the top with a hole saw.
-Taper grind the fiberglass on the rectangle and surrounding area.
-Laminate it back in to the rudder.
-Grind smooth and flush.
-Now fill the rudder thru those two 3/4" holes with some thing. I used a lightweight epoxy called "Ruddercast" that was developed for casting rudders in a mold.
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Old 15-08-2020, 08:43   #7
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

I will agree with Cheechako above on desired inspection.


You want to know what condition the internal grid is in. And you want to reseal the rudder when job done. As others said water gets most often from the top around a delaminated shaft entry.


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Old 15-08-2020, 09:18   #8
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid, winter storage

One more idea: Do not let the rudder freeze until this is resolved.
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Old 15-08-2020, 09:33   #9
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

A surveyor years ago told me that probably 90% of all rudders are waterlogged. The reason being that the SS rudder shaft and the fiberglass of the rudder expand and contract at different rates eventually letting water in.
Solution would be a CF rudder and post?
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Old 15-08-2020, 10:02   #10
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

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(...)

Solution would be a CF rudder and post?

Or a rudder without a post?


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Old 15-08-2020, 10:08   #11
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

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Originally Posted by smj View Post
A surveyor years ago told me that probably 90% of all rudders are waterlogged. The reason being that the SS rudder shaft and the fiberglass of the rudder expand and contract at different rates eventually letting water in.
Solution would be a CF rudder and post?
My solution was to fill it to make it solid. Nowhere for water to go inside. Lightweight epoxy filler. The filler weighs less in water anyway. Not that heavy.
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Old 15-08-2020, 10:50   #12
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

Question? Will holes drilled in the bottom be effective without as least one at the top to facilitate the draining?
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Old 15-08-2020, 11:16   #13
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

Quote:
Originally Posted by smj View Post
A surveyor years ago told me that probably 90% of all rudders are waterlogged. The reason being that the SS rudder shaft and the fiberglass of the rudder expand and contract at different rates eventually letting water in.
Solution would be a CF rudder and post?
I wouldn’t doubt that
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Old 15-08-2020, 11:55   #14
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

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Question? Will holes drilled in the bottom be effective without as least one at the top to facilitate the draining?
They do drain with just the bottom holes, at least for a while. Not sure. As I said though, it'll never dry in there just by draining.
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Old 15-08-2020, 12:12   #15
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Re: Rudder - small part oozing liquid

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheechako View Post
They do drain with just the bottom holes, at least for a while. Not sure. As I said though, it'll never dry in there just by draining.
Here is the odd case: When we first had our boat there were often patches on the rudder that were dribbling water. It might have not been water, it might have been a mixture of polyester resin and water like what comes out of gel-coat blisters.

In any case I just let them drain while working on the rest of the bottom, often a few days. When they stopped, sometimes barely stopped, sometimes still seeping, I epoxied over them and applied bottom paint.

Over the years there has been less and less seeping.

Now, and for the last few years, The rudder has had no places of leaking water. I clean the growth, sand thoroughly, and repaint.

I don't know, maybe I sealed in all the water.
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