Drill Holes In The Rudder?

[Ducati]

After the boats are out for the winter, my "know it all" neighbor warned me of the perils of not draining the rudder. His boats rudder has a couple of small holes in the bottom which he says will allow for any trapped water to drain. Doing that he says will reduce any issue of trapped water freezing which in turn would cause the rudder to crack or split.

Comments?

 

[higgs]

Not an uncommen soloution to water in the rudder. Most rudders take in water as it is very difficult to seal where post enters the rudder. Holes are easily filled with epoxy in the spring.

 

[Sanfelice]

Common practice

This is a common practice up north when boats are stored out of the water in an unheated space. I don't know if the Beneteau rudders are constructed in the same manner as many U.S. production boats used. They were actually built by Foss Foam. They advise that their rudders should either be painted white or covered with white covering if exposed to the elements. I know when I drill holes there is a constant trickle of water for quite some time.


http://newrudders.com/?page_id=4

 

[Deadline]

Seems counterproductive and self-fullfilling prophecy. If you drill a drain hole, it will only refill once it's resubmerged. Unless of course you expoxy it beforehand.

 

[Sanfelice]

Holes

The reason you drain the water is so it doesn't freeze and expand, cracking the fiberglass rudder covering. Prior to spring launch, the holes are filled. Also, try and seal the entrance where the post enters the rudder. Water entering the rudder is very common .

 

[NYSail]

On my old boat I would remove the rudder and store it next to the heater. Have not removed the rudder on my Pearson, but I do vaccum the rudder post out once the boat is on the hard and pour a bit of anti-freeze down just in case.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

I think it depends on the construction of the rudder. Foss Foam uses foam inside their rudders and so it would take forever to drain one. Other rudders are made with solid fiberglass matrix of micro balloons, etc. If that gets saturated with water, it will take a long time to dry it out and essentially the rudder has to be ground open to expose the interior so that it will dry out before rebuilding. Seidelman had a port of their rudders hollow and the manufacturer drilled holes in the rudder so that it drained when the boat was pulled. Apparently they didn't care if it held water when the boat was in the water. It seems that boat rudders crack on one side more than the other and this has something to do with which side is more exposed to the sun. Up north, people either remove their rudders for winter (hard to do if you have wheel steering), or they cover them in foil or a canvas custom made cover.

 

[higgs]

Deadline - you epoxy the holes in the spring or, as one friend did - tap them out and install small plugs so you can drain it every year.

 

[Ross]

Or you could drill and tap a hole in the top and the bottom and fill the rudder with antifreeze and put the plugs in and forget it.

 

[Prime Time]

I'd only do it if there was water in the rudder. Beg or borrow a moisture meter.

 

[Ducati]

Best Advice Yet

I'd only do it if there was water in the rudder. Beg or borrow a moisture meter.

Now there's thinking! Best advice yet.

Thanks