building a rudder

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A

AWalker

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Nov 13, 2011
166
Oday 23 New River Az
I would hazard a guess that marine grade plywood core with fiberglass would be high on the list
 
Joe11688

Joe11688

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Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
One of my friends built a spade rudder for his O'Day 27 using a special foam, Epoxy, and filler. The Fiberglas cloth that he use was different than the usual stuff out on the market. I can't really remember what type of cloth he used but the rudder came out great. Use a fiberglas Epoxy. Epoxy won't soak up water like the Polyester resins.
I imagine that you can use a marine plywood for the core of the rudder. This is something that you're going to want to check into very close before you start.
I'd say that it's doable. Good luck!

Joe
 
hewebb

hewebb

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Oct 8, 2011
329
Catalina Catalina 25 Joe Pool Lake
I have thought about building one like an airplane wing with an aluminum spar. foam & fiberglass. Haven't worked out the details yet. My thoughts are it would be very light and strong enough to handle the loads.
 
Joe11688

Joe11688

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Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
Stusail said:
you can buy a new one from D&R Marine. Why re-invent the wheel?
Click to expand
Big bucks Stu.
A few years ago a young guy named Gabriel out in Texas got on this forum and told us that he had bought an O'Day 25 with a rudder that needed fixing. The owner agreed to have it fixed, but it would take a while. During the interim, Gabe's Dad was coming down from a distant state to visit him and Gabe wanted take him out on the boat but the rudder wouldn't be ready in time. So he decided to build a rudder that would also serve as a spare later on. Gabriel had all the materials and the know how to knock it out, and he did.

He posted some pics of it for us and it looked great to me. You can save a lot of money by building a rudder yourself if you have the materials and know how. I say "go for it if you think you can do it."
 
Sunbird22358

Sunbird22358

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Jun 2, 2004
1,952
Oday Day Sailer Wareham, MA
Stusail said:
you can buy a new one from D&R Marine. Why re-invent the wheel?
Click to expand
As TRINKA says, $$$$$ is one good reason, unfortunately, not everyone lives within driving distance of D&R like we do, and the o'DAY 25 rudder is not cheap to ship. Plus, if it were me, I'd enjoy the challenge of building my own rudder, possibly making a few minor changes (like less depth to make it shallower than the keel, then add an endplate to make up for that reduction in draft, like on many Phil Bolger designs.)
The rudder that D&R sells is worth every penny that Rudy charges, but stil lit is a bit pricey!
 
Joe11688

Joe11688

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Jan 24, 2005
4,881
Oday 222 Dighton, Ma.
Stu Jackson said:
Joe, absolutely. If you're good at electronics, go for it. IIRC, through this or another boating forum, we found a fellow who fixes Raymarine Autohelm equipment.

For those who need to know, here it is:

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7283.0.html
Click to expand

Hey that's good to know. I really miss my Autohelm 800. I'd still have it today if I could have had it fixed. I even called the company in New Hampshire back then and the techy told me that parts were no longer available.

Now I have to reluctantly throw my Standard Voyager Horizon VHF radio out for the same reason. I bought it new in 1987 and it was state of the art back then. It's going to hurt me to throw it away.

Oh well what the heck. I couldn't use my boat this year anyway.
I'm going to make an effort to get well so that I can use my boat next year, God willing.

Joe
 
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