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 Post subject: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 24 May 2021 12:05 
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Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
Has anyone noticed cracks like these at the ridder post? I think they are just through gelcoat or whatever compound got used in this area but concerning nonetheless. No issues with my steering under load.


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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 24 May 2021 14:10 
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Skipper

Joined: 14 Jul 2012 20:36
Posts: 495
Location: Norfolk, Va
I would fix that, grind back and add lots of glass. I know that is a weak spot on T37. You don't get surface/flex cracks there, that is structural. You have to question the glass there has how much of the designed strength is left? There was a T37, lost it's rudder off the Va Capes 35 years ago and washed up in the wildlife preserve. I was on a salvage team that went in to find and salvage Nothing bigger than 6x6 piece of the boat. Almost kept me from buying a T37.

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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 25 May 2021 12:01 
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Skipper

Joined: 09 Aug 2017 15:35
Posts: 725
Location: Maine/USVI
Definitely a weak point laid up with cloth and roving. Mine was redone with biax at some point in it's life, heavily re-glassed and re-gelcoated. That's a lot of rudder (lever) with the pintle plate not very far below that bracing wrenching on that bracing. A hard whack on the rudder might cause a crack as well.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 25 May 2021 22:27 
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Skipper

Joined: 13 Feb 2011 21:19
Posts: 337
Location: Canyon Lake, TX
Lunacy 198 wrote:
I was surprise how well WayneH came through when his boat was beat on the rocks and everything but the steel was gone from the rudder. I wonder how this stringer looked in his lazaertte.

The post was titled "Hurricane Sally got me." I always thought that area looks very beefy and the rudder would break before the stringer...


Thanks, something ELSE I need to look at on my next trip to the boat. Shocked

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Wayne
Master and Commander of the Sailing Vessel Impetuous
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.
Subservient to no man except SWMBO
Any day without dock lines is a GOOD day!


 
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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 28 May 2021 19:06 
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Skipper

Joined: 29 Dec 2006 09:38
Posts: 656
puffcard wrote:
I would fix that, grind back and add lots of glass. I know that is a weak spot on T37. You don't get surface/flex cracks there, that is structural. You have to question the glass there has how much of the designed strength is left? There was a T37, lost it's rudder off the Va Capes 35 years ago and washed up in the wildlife preserve. I was on a salvage team that went in to find and salvage Nothing bigger than 6x6 piece of the boat. Almost kept me from buying a T37.

I will second this recommendation to grind it back--this is likely structural and you will see more when you grind some of it away. However, seems like this is the rudder stop that might have been redone at some point?--hard to get the orientation. If you are backing fast and crank the rudder one way this could be the result when it flips to the stop with great force at that point.
FWIW.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 04 Jun 2021 06:11 
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Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
Attached pic after some grinding and sanding. View is looking directly aft. Center zerk fitting removed. Hard to diagnose what caused this but my guess is that it happened a long time ago. It looked like someone tried repairing with filler. No added glass. I will be building up the area by wrapping layers of glass from one gusset to the other around the post. I may use roving if it doesn't fall apart when wetting out. The laminate was only maybe 316" thick. It looks like the gussets were hollow or maybe foam but no wood. Getting to the back side of the gussets is not possible unless quadrant is removed.


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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 04 Jun 2021 07:36 
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Skipper

Joined: 09 Aug 2017 15:35
Posts: 725
Location: Maine/USVI
Quadrant comes off easy pretty easy, but takes a few minutes. I'd use 3" wide strips of biax laid over that leg after grinding everything back. Make life easy, get a bitty grinder with a 2" wheel. I even bought one of those 3/4" wide belt sanders at Harbor Freight for short money that works great in those situations. But FIRST . . . does that crack impinge on the rudderpost . . . I'd fill the shit out of that crack with West System 406 or 404. Use a syringe. I'd just make sure I wasn't somehow shooting in filler that was going to touch the rudderpost itself. Zerk. I've been looking for a zerk. That means there must be
a bronze tube in there. I guess I need to look again, but I ain't seed wun. Ah, I see the bronze. Yeah, fill that gap with hardcore adhesive spooge. Be sure to de-blush it, then lay biax over, de-blushing first then give it some tooth after each layer kicks.


 
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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 25 Jun 2021 15:02 
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Skipper

Joined: 13 Feb 2011 21:19
Posts: 337
Location: Canyon Lake, TX
Because the rudder post was pulled, my quadrant was already off. So inspecting my stringers was "easy". You know, upside down with the lazzerette combing jabbing into your stomach. The final verdict is no cracks visible.

I apologize for not replying sooner but on June 6, my computer fatally crashed just as I was finishing up backups. Just getting back online yesterday. Forgot to backup my bookmarks, tho. dang. PC hates me

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Wayne
Master and Commander of the Sailing Vessel Impetuous
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.
Subservient to no man except SWMBO
Any day without dock lines is a GOOD day!


 
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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 26 Jun 2021 20:23 
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Skipper

Joined: 13 Feb 2011 21:19
Posts: 337
Location: Canyon Lake, TX
I believe most of my rudder movement during the event was up and down. Then the bottom of the rudder broke off and the top end split in half. I did find both halves of the top 12 inches of the rudder along the shore. Perfect match when I put them together. Considering where the boat started out and where it ended up, I think the rudder was gone by the time she went ashore. In the picture, you can see one section of the rudder on the dock with me behind it.

Athwartships movement would have damaged the stringers by moving the rudder post. Pitching allowed all the stringers to absorb the impact. That's my story.


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_________________
Wayne
Master and Commander of the Sailing Vessel Impetuous
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.
Subservient to no man except SWMBO
Any day without dock lines is a GOOD day!
 
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 Post subject: Re: Cracks at Rudder Post
PostPosted: 29 Jun 2021 10:08 
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Tactictian

Joined: 06 Aug 2020 09:02
Posts: 142
I ended up prepping the surface and inserted a screw into the zerk fitting threads to preserve them. I then laid down a layer of chopped strand and two layers of heavy roving woven over the entire face to cover cracks on both sides. I used peel ply in case I want to add more glass. I did not worry about cosmetics. Just want it functional for now. Added a new zerk fitting and pumped new grease into the rudder stock. I will pull the rudder next year and more closely inspect the structure.


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