Beneteau rudder tube/grid

Dec 11, 2020
7
Benerteau Cyclades Honolulu
I have a 2007 Beneteau 43.4 Cyclades. We bought it in Grenada and are sailing out to Hawaii. We just went through the Panama Canal then Perlas and we were headed to Costa Rica when I heard a lot of creeks and cracking coming from the rear bulkhead behind the two aft berths. It looks as if the rudder tube has been repaired cause it is completely encased in I think new fiberglass. It seems that the top board that the rudder comes through and where the autopilot is mounted is is shifting back and forth causing the creeks. I was asking if anyone else has had this problem, and any suggestions on how to fix it. We are in Vista Mar marina in Panama now. Thank you for any input. Also first timer so go easy thanks
 
Jan 7, 2011
5,435
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Probably need to see some photos to understand what you are looking at...in particular, the board you think is loose.

Can you tell how it was secured in the past? Do you think it was glassed to something before the rudder tube repairs?

Sounds like a big adventure, and I hope you can get the boat ship shape before hitting the Pacific.

Greg
 
Dec 11, 2020
7
Benerteau Cyclades Honolulu
this is if you stick your head in the back access panel of the rear port berth and were looking forward. It also looks as if the fiberglass is not adhering any more or has broken loose.
 
Jan 7, 2011
5,435
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Some obviously fixed something back there....what is loose? Hard to see much in that photo.
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
I only see this one. But I did notice two of the same comments in this thread. So it is possible one of the other Moderators already took care of the duplicate.
 
Jan 11, 2014
12,691
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
This doesn't look good. It is a bit difficult to do an assessment by photos only and I am not familiar with how Beneteau builds its boats, so take that into account when considering my comments.

Several things jumped out.

First, the new fiberglass appears to be laid over the top of finished plywood and not over raw plywood. I would think this will lead to poor adhesion between the resin and the bulkhead. If this is the case, then it will be weaker than it should be.

Second, the cloth looks like it is mat and not glass fabric. Mat is mostly used to build up thickness and it is not particularly strong. It also tends to be resin rich which will make the finished glass brittle.

Third, if indeed the glass is mat the proper resin is polyester or vinyl ester not epoxy. Polyester does not have great adhesive properties so it may not have bonded well to the bulkhead. If it is epoxy on mat it is resin rich and brittle. Mat is held together with a styrene based glue, polyester resin will dissolve the glue and saturate the cloth. Epoxy resin will not easily saturate the mat and does not dissolve the glue which leads to a heavy brittle layup.

Fourth, the top of the rudder tube looks like it is only partially bonded to the plywood at the top.

Finally, the overall quality of the repair looks to be poor. It is just not a neat job which makes me suspect about the overall repair.

I would certainly not be confident taking this boat to Hawai'i until I had it inspected by someone on site who I trusted. That may be hard to do in Panama.

You may find this video and the second part valuable as you assess your options. The video deals with risk management and sailing. The hour spent watching these two videos will be an hour well spent.

 
  • Like
Likes: Hello Below
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
Apparently this rudder issue happens to other boats of the same model. I screen grabbed this photo from the video linked in my first post. Looks like the owners in the video added some metal support brackets etc.

483E9023-A382-433B-B937-4E21E4D408EF.jpeg
 
Dec 11, 2020
7
Benerteau Cyclades Honolulu
Thank you all for your comments and advice. I will send an update with what I find. Very much appreciated
 
Dec 11, 2020
7
Benerteau Cyclades Honolulu
Just wanted again to say thanks and give an update. dlochner you are right across the board. Mat fiberglas was used and whatever resin was used it was very brittle. second no prep was done to the wood, which had a varnish finish and most of the fiberglass was not adhering.
We have removed all the old fiberglass, we sanded all surfaces, and laid the first joint compound in the corners. Tomorrow we plan on finishing the joint compound and starting to fiberglass it back together. I am thinking about adding a 2X4 or something like it as a support longitudinal across the top so that the center will basically be wedged between the outer tabs. It's kinda hard to explain but I have been taking pics and videos and I feel once completed it will be much stronger that original.
 
Mar 20, 2016
595
Beneteau 351 WYC Whitby
La vagabonde on youtube had the same same boat before the cat and the same failure . They have a video of what they did for the repair , they did have some stainless steel brackets made up and installed for extra strength and no more issues
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
@Holomoku1

I’m glad to know this happened BEFORE you set out for Hawaii! :) and that you are making progress in your repair.

I’m curious if you plan on dropping the rudder to inspect it as well? Given the evidence that this is not a “new” problem and the shoddy repair effort would make me wonder if all is well even though the tube will be repaired when your finished.
 
Dec 11, 2020
7
Benerteau Cyclades Honolulu
Well when I bought the boat it was getting a brand new rudder. There wasn’ta rudder on it and I saw the new rudder when it was waiting to be painted so at least I know that is all new and now I know why
 
  • Like
Likes: Hunter216
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
Well when I bought the boat it was getting a brand new rudder. There wasn’ta rudder on it and I saw the new rudder when it was waiting to be painted so at least I know that is all new and now I know why
So the first rudder is perhaps at the bottom of the pool :)

This is a something I do on occasion if I’m just out goofing around. Hope I never have to really need it! ;)

EE8622DC-CBE0-4C40-8078-797C1C8AA2C0.jpeg