Just a gentle grounding / rudder damage

[jdrutten]

After my first glorious season on the water, the time came for haul-out last week. On launch day way back in April, I noticed some substantial rudder damage on my new-to-me boat that I'm sure I should have properly addressed back then. The previous owner must've grounded it pretty hard because the bottom was completely torn up. But with the encouragement of the marina service guys, I decided to slather the damaged area with 5200 and put it in the water anyway. Yeah, probably not a great idea, but I was keen to get my new boat in the water and it was launch day. I was on the schedule! Anyway, after haul-out last week I peeled off the 5200 cap (it peeled right off) and, big shock, about a half cup or so of water immediately drained out. So, I can probably assume the rudder is quite wet.

So the question: how to repair?

First step is to get it dry. Will it dry sufficiently as-is before spring launch? Removal of the rudder to bring it home is not likely at this point, as I'm on the asphalt and am tightly packed-in with other boats. It's hard to imagine how I could get enough clearance to drop the rudder. I've seen posts about drilling holes to help drying. Is that necessary? I've even seen other posts that talk about installing a drain plug at the bottom of a known wet rudder in order to simply pull the plug at haul-out every season and let it dry over winter. Well, my rudder is basically one big giant drain right now with no plug. Seems like it should allow a fair bit of air movement, but I'm not sure.

Once it's dry, I imagine I should remove as much of the damaged area as possible before building it back up. Will thickened epoxy do the job, or will I need some other filler along with a few layers of fiberglass?

 

[dlochner]

Let it drain and dry over the winter. Gravity not air will help it dry.

Next spring, fair the bottom with some thickened epoxy and then cover with several layers of glass. It will be best to grind back some of the existing glass to get a 12:1 ratio, like a scarf joint.

Check the West System website for their free manual. There will be info on how to patch fiberglass.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Considering you're in the Minneapolis area, it's going to freeze overnight. It appears to have already split, so it might be prudent to grind it ASAP. Can you put a heat lamp near it to help it evaporate and keep it from freezing/splitting worse? I'd grind it open ASAP to help drying. You'll want to use some fiberglass and fairing eventually for a proper repair.

 

[jssailem]

At this point you are trying to do as much as is possible till the winter freezes come. Open it up (i.e grind it back as suggested). you might even try to wrap it and put a vacuum on the bottom to enhance the drawing of standing water out of the rudder. At this point I would expect the rudder to be fully soaked. Rudders are made to shape by the use of foam and an internal frame. The foam will have absorbed water. I would agree with @Captain Larry-DH that the water left in the rudder will freeze and do further damage. Doing what you can to minimize this may allow you to do the patch job in the spring when the warm days return.

It will be a bit of a crap shoot. You may find you will need a new rudder come spring thaw.

 

[dlochner]

Don't hit the panic button. I've had 2 saturated rudders, they are a PITA. Eventually the rudder will freeze solid, but it will take a while for that to happen. An overnight freeze may freeze some of the water near the surface, but probably not solid through the whole rudder.

Once it warms up a bit, the ice will melt and water will continued to migrated down the rudder and drip out. In the worst case scenario, the aft end of the rudder may split along the seam. If it does, it is a rather simple repair, grind some fiberglass off, and lay up some new glass around the seam.

Ideally it would be best to put the rudder in a heated space for the winter and let it drip dry. If that is not possible leaving it outside will not be the end of the rudder's life.

What you do want to do is inspect carefully for other more significant damage to the boat from the grounding, especially around the aft end of the keel. Also check the supports for the rudder post, look for cracks and loose tabbing. These are things that your surveyor should have seen during a pre-purchase survey. If he didn't notice the damaged rudder, then you should have a conversation with him and his liability insurance company.

 

[jdrutten]

Oof! I appreciate the comments, even the terrifying ones. I think I will try to grind it out sooner rather than later (and maybe rig up a shop-vac for a few hours), but won’t be out to the boat in time for the dip below freezing tonight. I appreciate the follow up @dlochner, and think I will indeed have to connect with my surveyor!

 

[smokey73]

What year is your Hunter? Sometime in the mid 90's Foss Foam in Williston Florida (not the one in California) made the Hunter rudders with stainless shafts and mild steel fins. The foam and skin are then applied around this structure. Salt water penetration in the rudder can degrade the mild steel fins so that is a consideration. Foss Foam can rebuild an existing rudder with new stainless fins if the stainless rudder shaft is still in good shape. You can call Foss Foam and speak to them.
Home This is the company that built your original rudder.

I'm not sure that the Foss Foam in California is the original manufacturer of the Hunter rudders nor am I sure of its current relationship with Foss Foam of Florida. They apparently started out the same "Chuck Foss" but they may have separated at some time.

 

[jdrutten]

What year is your Hunter? …
Home This is the company that built your original rudder.

I’ve got a 2004, and from the website you sent it looks like they did build it. So that’s cool. Of course I hope I won’t need to call them come springtime. The boat has only seen freshwater, so hopefully the frame is still intact. I wonder if there world be any value in getting a moisture meter to check levels in the spring.

 

[Apex]

Keep us updated on rudder repair efforts: I will be doing the same on my new to me C&C. So far I have put all my efforts in removing the rudder (PITA) and then carefully inspect and repair over the course of winter in a lovely warm basement.