Painting the Rudder

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lehighsail

lehighsail

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Feb 21, 2008
418
Hunter 33 Metedeconk River
Anyone know anything about why the rudder would be painted differently on a Hunter33 than the rest of the bottom. Main hull by PO was blue like Interlux MSC but the rudder is white.

Thanks
 
DougM

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
Was the rudder replaced and subsequently never painted? There would be not really good reason not to use the same bottom paint on the rudder.
 
Ron20324

Ron20324

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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Maybe they ran out of paint just doing the hull? Or maybe to use a harder paint on the rudder that gets more water wear?
 
Don S/V ILLusion

Don S/V ILLusion

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Sep 25, 2008
7,693
Alden 50 Sarasota, Florida
Two reasons:

1. More visible in the water to see from on deck although I never got that one, and more likely,

2. Keeps the rudder cooler avoiding latent heat effect and delamination while out of the water, even in cold climates, dark paint can get pretty warm,
 
trainmanjess

trainmanjess

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Dec 7, 2012
515
Kittiwake 23, Irwin 43 .. Indianapolis / indianatown, fl
hello all

on my last boat (Mac25) the rudder was painted with gloss marine paint with a white stripe about 6 inches wide painted on it... it is a kick up rudder system... and the boat was painted with ablative bottom paint in blue... this was done before I bought it... it looked good this way...

my new boat was a full keel with an attached rudder system... the rudder is painted the same as the keel on my new boat... in the spring I will repaint the keel and rudder with black bottom paint... and above the water line is white now with a blue stripe just below the gun whale... right now the deck is light blue and looks terrible... in the spring, I will repaint it white and paint the walking areas with kiwigrip no-slip paint... not sure yet which color I will use, but I am thinking or white or grey.... the kiwigrip paint is a rubberized paint you roller on.... it is soft to walk on even barefoot, and helps to hold you from slipping or falling...

sincerely
Jess
 
T

TLW

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Jan 15, 2013
271
Oday 31 Whitehall, MI
Absolutely - the Foss foam rudder on the Hunter can deform when the boat is on the hard if sunlight shines on a dark colored rudder. Even in Winter, the heat generated can cause problems, even more so if any water has entered the rudder (common) and expands with heat. A common problem. My own boat has a dark (VC-17) rudder, but is wrapped with white plastic while on the cradle for Winter.
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
I paint mine white. It is much easier to see if it is clean and to clean it of slime when it is white. Also another vote for Don's comment about delamination which I experienced once and repaired then replaced the rudder at a later date.
 
DougM

DougM

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Jul 24, 2005
2,242
Beneteau 323 Manistee, MI
Of all the boats around here that store on the hard at least 6 months out of the year, I have never seen one with the rudder left unpainted. It's difficult for me to get my head around the notion that a rudder would be of such questionable construction that it would delaminate or deform from exposure to sunlight. But then I don't live in the deep south either. On the other hand, if it gets water inside it, it won't matter what color it is. When it freezes, the expansion of the water will be the culprit.
 
lehighsail

lehighsail

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Feb 21, 2008
418
Hunter 33 Metedeconk River
Once again, thanks for all the help. It seems like it can do no harm to paint the rudder white and may help prevent heating so might as well keep it white. Which paint would be suggested for this use?

Thanks.
 
Claude L.-Auger

Claude L.-Auger

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Dec 14, 2003
1,450
Hunter 34 Lake of Two Mountains, QC, Can
TLW said:
Absolutely - the Foss foam rudder on the Hunter can deform when the boat is on the hard if sunlight shines on a dark colored rudder. Even in Winter, the heat generated can cause problems, even more so if any water has entered the rudder (common) and expands with heat. A common problem. My own boat has a dark (VC-17) rudder, but is wrapped with white plastic while on the cradle for Winter.
Click to expand

A phone call to Foss foam a few years ago confirmed that. So since mine is painted blue with the same anti-fouling than the hull, I cover it when boat is out of the water, removing the cover just before launching.
 

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jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Before painting my new rudder white I also sanded it and applied several coats of barrier coat to the rudder to help prevent water intrusion. Whether it helps or not it seemed like a good idea for a new rudder and helps the bottom paint to adhere by painting before the barrier coat fully cures.
 
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