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 Post subject: Rudder's Almost Done
PostPosted: 12 May 2019 07:44 
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Skipper

Joined: 09 Aug 2017 15:35
Posts: 725
Location: Maine/USVI
After seeing a tiny drip of water coming out of the bottom of the rudder in the shed this spring thaw, and dark discoloration in the old bottom paint for about 6" around the forward end of the rudder bottom, I decided what the hell. I'll put up photos at some point. Ground off the bottom paint, cut the starboard side open and dug out most of the foam. Turned out only a little bit in the bottom was bad. Re-foamed with 6# because I couldn't get anything heavier around here. Better than what was in there. Stuck the cut out part back in, west system filler around the edges until leveled, then a layer of 17 oz. biax over the whole side. Going to go out and level the biax before heading to camp for mother's day.

So, what I see is this barn door rudder struck something hard. One crack in the gelcoat all the way up the side of the leading edge, and some half assed filler at the bottom forward. The boat didn't come with a skeg, so I assume this was done either at the loss of the skeg or after. I figure the water got in slowly at the bottom where it struck, was slowed by the foam, dripped out every winter, etc. I can't find anywhere else except little voids in the gelcoat that might indicate water intrusion except maybe around the bottom of the rudderpost. I had a stainless washer the same size as the bushing under it. The rudderpost is slightly recessed up in the rudder, and the gelcoat & glass was worn some in that area. I filled it some with West System microfibers. I'm going to make sure any washer under the bearing bears fully on the rudder above and pintle plate below this time around. It could have leaked some in that area as well.

When I got the boat, the 1" pintle pin was afloat. It was in the hole, but you could push it up. Hitting the bottom of the rudder solidly broke the tack weld in that pin. Very good glasswork inside the hull around the rudderpost as well indicates a pretty solid whack. Really crappy design. I'm hoping the skeg installation affords some level of protection. I'm thinking of really bonding it to the hull so if it is struck, it will slow anything down headed for the rudder. It's not a skeg in the original regard, it's just a fairing. A real live skeg would've been a better idea. Too much leverage from the bottom of that rudder all the way up to where the rudderpost enters the hull. Just my useless opinion.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Rudder's Almost Done
PostPosted: 12 May 2019 18:58 
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Joined: 29 Dec 2006 09:38
Posts: 656
I am not going to defend all of Tartan’s work of that of your previous owner, but I do not think the rudder and skeg is not a bad design. There is a stainless steel bracket holding the pintel that is secured into the hull with 3 or 4 bolts. A lot of contemporary boats just had a spade rudder. Period (Cal 39, etc)
Olin told me he designed the thing to not have a skeg, but that Charlie Brittan insisted he add one because that was the rage in defining stout cruising boats at the time (Islander 36 and Valiant 32). I would not over do the fairing as it really does little other than keeping lobster pots from getting hung up on the rudder post. Just one opinion. I am estimating I have done 40,000 miles with mine in 25 years of ownership and a lot of that in Maine (rocks and lobster pots) and never had a problem. I did have to service the thing and put a new bearing in it 20 years ago. It is still solid and there is no play.
Ray Durkee
T37 #373


 
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 Post subject: Re: Rudder's Almost Done
PostPosted: 13 May 2019 08:36 
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Skipper

Joined: 09 Aug 2017 15:35
Posts: 725
Location: Maine/USVI
Yup, the rudder's definitely a soft spot, and, really, with nothing but a tack weld holding that pintle pin in place, it might as well BE a spade rudder. Or, like with the other one I looked at down to Robinhood Marine, the pin capturing the bearing in place rotted out and the bearing shinnied up into the rudderpost out of sight. Nothing holding the rudder other than hull. Which is why I welded the shit out of every bolt head, the entire pin, etc. on the pintle plate. She'll cross the Atlantic if I feel like taking a left on the way home - unless the rudder hits something. My Pearson 10M (toy) had a skeg hung rudder, very tough, and my Bristol 35 Alden rudder was fully attached to the keel top and bottom. Just got to get everything else in order on this boat and don't seem to have the time to do it. One thing I'm going to do is figure out -water pump grease maybe- what grease to put on the bearing that'll keep for awhile (at least) when I put this all back together. I'm still 1/16" shy of the right spacing under the bearing, thinking maybe a larger 1/16" stainless washer to sit on the pintle plate, delrin washer on top of that (1/4"), bearing on top of that. And not sure the 1/4" delrin washer on top of the rudder is going to fit. Need to get all over the Newfound installation as well, scrape the bottom, barrier coat, thru hulls. Crap. Going back to the V.I. next Monday, too, then back to Maine, then back to the V.I. until mid-July, then Maine until the end of hurricane season. I guess some of it'll get done on the dock in Stockton Harbor.


 
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