The rudder skeg on my boat seems to have some slack at the joint to the hull after being grounded by Ike. The boat stayed upright and still tied to the floating docks where the entire Baytown marina came to rest. There is a good 6" of clearance under the skeg. Is that enough room to drop it and the rudder away from the hull. Any info on what steps need to be done first and tools needed would be greatly appreciated. Also what is the best sealant to use when rebedding the skeg? Hate to make that hour drive multiple times because I forgot the one tool needed. Thanks in advance for any assistance. Ross B.
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Take all the tools you own and you will still probably need something else. Crawl inside and measure the length of the rudder post sticking up inside. You have to do that anyway to get the tiller head or the quadrant off. Will the yard man pick the boat up for you with the travel lift?
Closest travel lift is about 15 miles away. I'll have to wait for the crane to clear about 20 boats before mine can be reached. I can dig under the rudder skeg if necessary to drop it. Here's a couple of shots of my Hunter that survived and my tri that did not. Also a couple of links to pics of my marina
http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/storms/ike/geo-C25956479.jpg
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Share...0&UV=880537372382_697756321211&localeid=en_UShttp://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Share...0&UV=880537372382_697756321211&localeid=en_US
http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/storms/ike/geo-C25956479.jpg
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Share...0&UV=880537372382_697756321211&localeid=en_UShttp://adobe.kodakgallery.com/Share...0&UV=880537372382_697756321211&localeid=en_US
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That is a terrible place to try to work. The assembly that you remove will be quite heavy. How would you manage the weight and the reassembly? How likely are you to strike water if you dig? I would be inclined to wait until it can be moved to higher ground. Could you get a lawn mower in there? How soft is the ground? Will you need to lay plywood down for a dry place to work?
2 seasons ago we ( my yard and myself combined) dropped the skeg and rudder to deal with a bad shaft cuopler and replacement of shaft. we used the dig the hole method but the boat was on stands. we still needed about 1 1/2 ft of clearance to let the entire rudder assembly drop. just giving you an idea of depth you need. If you have even the slightest thought of needing a new shaft, now is the time. If you no longer use your inboard(I saw the outboard mount), then nuf said, but I would hate to go back in the water after all that workand have viibration rear it's head and have to do it all over again. With the rudder post out, look and see if your backstays have backing plates. Mine didn't and you may be albe to reach these easier with that big hole to work through. no backing plates on the swim ladder either. I know the projegts are building, but I would rather have 1 long work session than out,then back, then out, then back. Repeat,repeat, ect.
Pray for Wind, lugeman
P.S. Same boat, same year
Pray for Wind, lugeman
P.S. Same boat, same year
Not so easy.
I have a 27 ft hunter. My rudder floats; so, you don't drop it when the boat is in the water. You have to pull the rudder down for the rudder post to clear the tube. I replaced my rudder with the boat in the water, but we moved the boat into an area where we had 5 ft of water under the rudder. Also took two large anchors and a couple of concrete blocks to hold the pulley that we used to pull the rudder down under the boat and guide it up into the tube.
Looking forward to your message telling us how every thing went.
Owning a boat is like having two wives.
lol
I have a 27 ft hunter. My rudder floats; so, you don't drop it when the boat is in the water. You have to pull the rudder down for the rudder post to clear the tube. I replaced my rudder with the boat in the water, but we moved the boat into an area where we had 5 ft of water under the rudder. Also took two large anchors and a couple of concrete blocks to hold the pulley that we used to pull the rudder down under the boat and guide it up into the tube.
Looking forward to your message telling us how every thing went.
Owning a boat is like having two wives.
lol
Crawled through the lazzerette today and got a look at the skeg bolts; not a pretty sight. The nuts were pretty much consumed by corrosion. May have to take a grinder in and remove the rest of whats there, then rebuild or re embed new bolts. There was no sign of leakage, so maybe the portion of the bolts thru the hull were good enough to heli-arc some new ends on. The bolts on the quadrant look in pretty good shape, so maybe not to much problem there. Looks like 5 bolts are what hold the skeg on, and I'm guessing the fiberglass skeg itself probably weighs around 25 lbs. There is a small crack at the base of the rudder that will need to be repaired. I'll let you know how it turns out. R.A.B
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