c400 lost rudder in storm

[Larry Shulman]

just lost my rudder in a storm, 6 foot seas in the Long Island sound, can't figure it out, boat is brand new (20 hours) on engine. any ideas???has anyone heard of rudder failures on any Cat's???Larry Shulman5166942034

 

[Sam Sevier]

A little more info please

What exactly was the failure? Did you lose the entire rudder, post and all? Or did the rudder break at the post or partially up the fiberglass? Have you talked to the factory or your dealer? I have 400 #135 and am extremely interested in the specifics. I haven't heard of any 400's experiencing this problem.

 

[Ernie A]

Should never happen...

but it did.Hi, Larry-- The C-400 is a terrific and trustworthy boat. From your choice of words, it sounds like the rudder fell out of the hull and went to the bottom. I have heard of that happening, but never in a Catalina. Sounds like the top bushing on which the rudder rides loostened up or most likely was not properly tightened. I'm sure you've talked with Grant or Matt Coney and have a good idea what happened. They are good people. They and Catalina will take care of it completly with a new rudder from Calif. Yes, it was frightening and you didn't need it. Unfortunately, such can happen, but is exceedingly unlikely ever to happen again to you. You will again enjoy and actually trust your boat completely. Think of the story you can tell.Ernie AprilWindCatcher C-42 #618.

 

[Ernie A]

Here's what happened...according to the dealer.

Ahoy, all-- We've all been waiting to hear what happened and really need to know if it might happen to another Catalina owner. With lack of timely response from Mr Shulman, I've talked with Kevin Coney of Coney's Marine.  1. The rudder did not drop out of the boat. The blade did delaminate. The internal skeletal structure appeared to be intact. The stock was fine. A new rudder has been received by Coneys Marine and would have been installed if it hadn't been for Floyd. The failed rudder is being returned to the Catalina factory for analysis.2. The cause of rudder delamination is as yet unknown. Two possible reasons were put forth by Mr Coney as speculation:a) There could have been damage to the rudder from an incident such asgrounding or wrapping a lobster warp, mooring, even anchor line about therudder. [Hutington Harbor has strong reversing currents.] Any of these couldhave happend without being noticed.b) There could have been a bad batch of foam or faulty procedure used in the blade fabrication.In either event, Mr Coney stated that Catalina does not plan a recall unless they feel there may be a widespread problem with the design or foam. This appears to be an isolated incident to which Catalina seems to have responded positively and quickly.To be on the safe side, perhaps we should look a bit more closely at our rudders this fall after hauling out and power washingl.Cheers--Ernie April(WindCatcher C-42 #618)