Wood Rudder

[JGI417]

I would suggest using a fiberglass cloth, you can get it in a light oz. weight that would be easy to work with.

[Boracay]

I did not suggest fibreglass because it could change the characteristics and loading of the rudder, changing a known satisfactory setup to an unknown one.
I considered the following:-
Fibreglassing would increase the size of the rudder so that it may no longer fit.
It would increase the weight of the rudder.
It would increase load on the steering.
In an engineering sense the fibreglass would be stronger than the wood so essentially we would have a wood cored fibreglass rudder. Structurally speaking the fibreglass would take the load, transfer it to the wood and then the wood would transfer the load to the metal straps/pintles. This may be weaker than the existing setup.
My observation of the design of rudders in Bruce Robert's fibreglass boats has the fibreglass bonding direct onto the metal.
And from my own current experience fibreglass and epoxy does not just jump onto the wood and lie there giving a perfect result. The stuff can have a mind of its own and unless one has considerable experience it is very difficult to do a first class job.
The white pigment is to give some ultra violet protection to the underlying epoxy and to assist the visual judgement of subsequent painting.

[Steve Rust]

I think some of the replys are missing the point about using cloth. The purpose is not to add strenght to the rudder but to overcome the slight movement and dimensional instability of larger thick pieces of lumber. Coats of resin only, reguardless of how many you apply do not have the strength to overcome this movement of the wood. It will eventually develope cracks and allow moisture to enter. Plywood(other than fir), strip planking, laminating veneers, etc are stable enough for a resin only coating but larger pieces need the additional cloth. That said IMO it is a questionable practice to coat large dimensional lumber with epoxy and expect it to be a long term solution.

Two questions, and one comment: is the rudder reinforced with steel rods or other reinforcement? Are any of the cracks or checks across the grain?
There is a school of thought that epoxying or glassing a wood boat (not plywood) is a bad idea. It can seal in moisture already there, and it can allow moisture to enter through imperfections and cause rot. It also eliminates the natural flex of the wood (a benefit), and will not allow the wood to expand and contract in it's natural way. I follow this school of thought, and would not use epoxy or glass on the rudder unless it is damaged, or shows cracks across the grain. If it is reinforced with iron, I would pull it apart and replace the rods, but still leave it wood. Just the opinion of an old wood guy. Nothing but rhetoric to back it up.

[Islandmike]

I really appreciate all of the responses and information. As I look at the rudder closely it is in good shape. It is over 30 years old and has done the job well so far. I think I will replace hardware, sand well and put plenty of good paint on. In the future if I need to coat I can.

Again thank you all for your very informed advice.

Mike

IMHO good choice.

[Not Sure]

Gee, I wonder what sailors did for the 1000 years prior to West Systems coming along? LOL!

Were it me, I'd simply go with the tar and paint method, like the sailors of old (ablative paint, of course, and several coats of it).

In fact, it is kind of me, because I'm in the process of redoing my rudder right now while the boat is hauled out for maintenance. I've got the exact opposite problem...a rudder that somewhere in the past 30 years has been coated in a thick coat of fiberglass, which now is apparently leaking and beginning to seperate in places, with the wood inside of an unknown condition. What I'm going to do is use the old rudder as a pattern to cut a new rudder out of 2x12, then simply paint the new rudder with multiple coats of ablative paint.

I'm still debating what to do with the original rudder, and I believe I'll just use it to test my epoxy patching skills, paint it, and save it as a pattern/backup, since it's a good bet that the wood core is at best in poor shape in spots. At least with a painted wood rudder I can easily evaluate its condition rather than simply covering it up with fiberglass. Besides, I'd bet that 99% of the fiberglass-covered rudders out there more than a few years old leak and are waterlogged anyways, despite what their owners may claim.

[karlhead]

Steve over 30 yrs ago I worked in a large boat repair yard as lift driver and all around fixer upper. This old man came in with what I thought was an amost derelict shrimpboat about 35 ft with planked hull. You could throw a dead cat thru the seams. He filled all the seams with tar and told me he was ready to splash. I thought he was kidding but he wasn't so I did. He hung in the straps over the weekend while the boat filled with water. On Monday morning he asked me to pump it out. I did and all the water he was making were just a couple of minor trickles and then he asked me to block the boat again. This time he used a seam reamer to dig out the tar and then he caulked with oakum. He never touched the rudder and it looked as bad as the rest of the boat. I loved watching and learning from all those "uneducated" old timers. I bet they forgot more than we will ever know.

[S&S]

If it wasn't glassed to start with, don't glass it has worked for me.

[SkiprJohn]

Is Everdure something that is specific to Australia?

I don't have any marine stores near so will look on line. It sounds like a product similar to Git Rot.

regards,

[S&S]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Is Everdure something that is specific to Australia?

I don't have any marine stores near so will look on line. It sounds like a product similar to Git Rot.

regards,

CPES would be the stuff available here. Works as advertised, stinks like hell.

[SkiprJohn]

Thanks S&S.
I'll see if I can find some here.
regards,