1972 Pearson P30 rudder bushing

[fred1diver]

Hello all!
Was working on my rudder bushings yesterday, raised the rudder a bit to allow removing the head to access the bushings, when I removed the ropes from around the rudder post (to hold the tarp in place for winter) I noticed a crack on the underside of the hull near the rudder post.
I am not sure how to properly fix this!
I will have to drop the rudder to further inspect, I am wondering if grinding, adding new glass and finishing it properly will be good or am I missing something?
I also noticed that my rudder is hanging too low, the bottom bushing has no contact at all with the hull, will probably add more bushings/spacers at the top to raise it a bit.
I wonder it the sweaking I had was because the rudder had too much play?

let me know what you all think

 

[JBP-PA]

I can't tell from the photo, but it kinda looks like it's just thick fairing compound cracking off. Poke it with a long thin knife.

 

[fred1diver]

Ok, I will try that this evening

 

[fred1diver]

Anyone has any idea on the supposed weight of the rudder???
Just to brace myself accordingly

 

[dmax]

If the rudder doesn't have any water in it, you should be able to handle it by yourself - I was able to remove and replace the rudder on my Catalina 30 myself. Less than 100 lbs. Use a jack to lower and lift it into place. Most rudders on keel boats are designed to have positive buoyancy. If water gets in, they can be pretty heavy.
Don't be too concerned with the gap - most have some room there - yours looks ok. When in the water, the rudder floats so that gap closes.

 

[fred1diver]

Ok, a big thank you for the info

 

[jssailem]

I would put some type of jack-supported structure and lower the rudder rather than attempting to catch it, "not knowing the weight". The goal is to avoid!

You can always jack it back into place. On some boats, you need to dig a trough below the boat to get the rudder to drop below the last bearing. I have also seen boats lifted by the yard crane, then set back down after the rudder has been removed.

 

[fred1diver]

yes, I thought of the Jack, it is already in place.
The thing I didn’t think about was the through bolt holding it to the steering quadrant, it is of course ALL rusted and the access is …….. extreme boat yoga style
My wife and I will see what we can do over the weekend, but I am strongly thinking about just cutting the bolt from inside the tube.

I do believe we would need a through under the boat, but I think we will simply lower it to do the work and be done.
I really do not think my club will let me dig, especially since our club is located on an old military sea plane base.

 

[fred1diver]

Quick update
We managed to cut the problematic bolt, the rudder does go down a bit more, but it doesn’t want to drop completely
Am I missing anything?
I removed the rudder stock (still have one even though we have a wheel)
Removed the bolt.
Tried pounding it to get it down, but no joy.

is there something I am not seeing???

 

[fred1diver]

Quick update
We lowered the rudder as far as it would go (not much ) sanded down the damaged area (worse than I originally thought)
Added thickened epoxy.
so far we sanded it down and added interprotec on it, just looking for a kind soul to let us use a lick or two of ablative paint before we reinstall the rudder