Starboard for new rudder head?

[franwon]

Hello All,

I have to replace the plywood rudder head on my 17 ft, AFC 2+2 'microcruiser' sailboat. The original 30 yr old rudder head was made of one thickness of 1/2" plywood on either side of a 1/4" thick piece. One, 1/2 " side of the original recently snapped off about 6 inches above the kick up rudder pivot bolt. An examination of the remains showed that the head of the pivot bolt pulled through the 1/2 piece on one side and the unsupported piece on the other side failed. (My fault for not adding a large washer behind the bolt head)

I'm trying to decide whether to build the replacement out of plywood or to use 1/2" sheets of KingStarboard. I'm aware that at least one company manufactures foiled replacement rudders out of HDPE. Some sailors have reported that the 1+" rudder blades are a bit bendy. I've also seen a reference to snapped rudder blades. I'm sure Starboard is great for many marine projects, but I'm concerned that it might not be strong/stiff enough for this application. The aluminum rudder blade would obviously put a considerable load on the insides of the rudder head.

The dimensions of the rudder head are 12 inches wide by 24 inches tall.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

franwon

[delmarrey]

Starboard does not glue/epoxy so it would have to be mechanically fastened and shaped. I'd recommend a prefabbed rudder or foam cored covered in heavy glass.

http://www.sponbergyachtdesign.com/K...r%20Design.pdf

http://mysite.verizon.net/~vze339xh/...tpicspage.html

[Rocketman]

If you were to build it out of starboard, I would use one inch starboard and cut it to match the old rudder, like delmarrey says, it is nearly impossible to glue starboard to something so a single thickness of starboard would be the best, then shape it the way you want, the dissadvantage to starboard is it is flexible depending on how much force is applied. A better solution is to build it with plywood and glass, it will be very strong and you can make it any thickness and taper it, like the original. There is a lot of information on the internet on how to build things out of fiberglass.

[ohdrinkboy]

I have limited experience with Starboard, but it probably would not be my first choice due to flexibility.

There is also a company call foss foam that builds foam rudders. [URL="http://newrudders.com/"[/URL]

I have no connection, just got a quote from them once for my boat when I was considering a worst case repair/replace scenario.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Franwon.

[Astral Blue]

Originally Posted by franwon

Hello All,

I have to replace the plywood rudder head on my 17 ft, AFC 2+2 'microcruiser' sailboat. The original 30 yr old rudder head was made of one thickness of 1/2" plywood on either side of a 1/4" thick piece. One, 1/2 " side of the original recently snapped off about 6 inches above the kick up rudder pivot bolt. An examination of the remains showed that the head of the pivot bolt pulled through the 1/2 piece on one side and the unsupported piece on the other side failed. (My fault for not adding a large washer behind the bolt head)

I'm trying to decide whether to build the replacement out of plywood or to use 1/2" sheets of KingStarboard. I'm aware that at least one company manufactures foiled replacement rudders out of HDPE. Some sailors have reported that the 1+" rudder blades are a bit bendy. I've also seen a reference to snapped rudder blades. I'm sure Starboard is great for many marine projects, but I'm concerned that it might not be strong/stiff enough for this application. The aluminum rudder blade would obviously put a considerable load on the insides of the rudder head.

The dimensions of the rudder head are 12 inches wide by 24 inches tall.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

franwon

If plywood lasted for 30 years, you'll mostly likely get another 30 out of plywood.