water in rudder

[repeter]

Re: Hunter 33.5 (vintage 1994). Upon commissioning earlier this month, I noticed that the wad of large-gap foam sealer the the top of the rudder post had crumbled and the rudder appeared to be filled with water (rain I assume). I can't image this is a good thing, but just how serious is it?
I can reseal the opening at the top of the rudder post, of course, but should I haul the boat, drill a hole in the bottom of the rudder and drain it?

 

[seadaddler]

Not a expert but have seen other rudders with water in them and what they did was many holes up and down
the rudder and allow time for water to drain and than fill with some kind of epoxy maybe west system.
nick

 

[Craig Cook]

Pretty much describes what I did with a previous boat, but the holes were drilled and the boat sat in winter storage for several months. It is a long process to get the water to drain. The down side to this situation is that if you are in an area where it freezes, that water can freeze, expand and delaminate the rudder. If you aren't in an area that freezes, the metal frame inside the rudder can rust and eventually fail. Two other members of our club were in the same situation as you (different brand boats though), they ended up having Foss Foam in Florida build them new rudders. Not sure what that cost them but I would guess it wasn't cheap.

 

[Jeff]

I have a 1993 H335. We've been struggling with moisture in the rudder for several years although my symptoms seem to be improving. I pull the boat every two years and address hull issues. Generally, minor blisters and new bottom paint. Four years ago during the fall haul out I blocked the boat up an extra 8". I drilled 4 holes (1/4") near the bottom of the rudder and Dremmeled the blisters to let them dry out over the winter. It freezes here in the mid-west. The following spring I sanded the entire rudder down to glass, fixed the blisters, sealed and filled them. We then dropped the rudder 8" so I could grind out all loose material around the rudder post. Then we applied two coats of West System epoxy to the entire rudder. I did add a little Colloidal Silica to the Epoxy around the post. When that all set up I put a bead of 5200 around the rudder post. We followed up with Interlux 2000 barrier coat per the mfr. instructions and bottom paint. So far I have only experienced minimal blisters on the rudder which I fix properly, spot barrier coat and apply new bottom paint. BTW, since I use VC17 Blue, I wrap the rudder in an old white bed sheet during the winter to minimize the heat build up on the foam core.

 

[Whatfiero1]

Wet vac. Add tape to hose till tight fit into rudder post top then turn on and let run all day and into night pulls moisture out rudder it May pull water in if in water and ya have holes maybe blow first and look in water for bubbles

 

[DStegs49]

I have a Legend 37 and dropped in to the "Mid Size Boats" to see if any answers for my boat could be found here. RE the water in the rudder. I removed my rudder last fall because of some delamination and blistering. I let it drain (Hunter must have anticipated a problem because there was an allen screw in the bottom for draining) over the winter in my garage and it weighed 183 pounds. I'm not a glasser and didn't want to pay the price for repairs with no guarantee it would work. I took the rudder to Foss Foam in Williston, Florida. (352-529-1104) They stripped it down to the skeleton and remade a new one to original specs. It came back weighing 149 pounds. I treated it with Interlux 2000e and fresh VC17. Al at Foss Foam said even after letting it drain the foam core was saturated. Luckily Lake Michigan is fresh water, otherwise the steel frame would have rusted. Cost for a new rudder was $1200, plus shipping. If you're going to FL for a two week vacation drop it off and pick it up on the way back. Turn around time was about 2 weeks. Great people to work with and I'm happy I didn't tackle it myself. With a dark bottom paint Al said to keep it covered with a white sheet (as mentioned before) to keep the sun's heat from distorting the foam.

 

[repeter]

Thank you all for your responses.

 

[Reg M]

What does Foss Foam charge to rebuild a rudder?

 

[DStegs49]

What does Foss Foam charge to rebuild a rudder?

For my Legend 37 WK their price was $1200 without shipping. Depends on where you are for that cost. I was able to drop mine off and pick it up a couple weeks later. You can call Al and he or David will give you the cost for your particular rudder. 352 529 1104.