Will snap a photo today...... went about 1/8 inch into fiberglass. Rudder is solid with no movement shaft is perfect. Keel is steel...... no marks on it and all is tight and sound with attachment. Looks like a small repair job with a filler that basically cracked over the years. Again it’s on the leading edge and port side. All fine on starboard side.
www.boatworkstoday.com
That is an interesting crack. I'm assuming the image was posted rotated and the crack is horizontal.
This sounds like good advice. That is much wider than I expected, from your original description. You need to replace the skin layers, and glass reinforcement would probably be structurally critical.
What I would be concerned about is the lateral forces on the rudder and there being a weak spot. That crack may act like a kerf in a piece of wood that is bent. Grinding it open a bit more and glassing it would make it stronger and is not that big a job. The rudder is kind of a critical part of the boat.
+1. I fixed some scrapes and dings on my rudder from a previous grounding with it in 2015. Still good to the best of my knowledge.
When I bought the boat 4 years ago rudder was dry and sound. 2 weeks ago when I first saw I had my friend come down with his moisture meter and again bone dry. Solid and sounds good throughout. No noticeable movement in rudder...... Also, when I was grinding it I was slowly taking layers off.... everything appeared fine with only the crack and no signs of stress flexing that might occur if it were just hanging on. But I am sure when things decide to go they just do. And again, its only on the port side. I am going to do the repair as suggested for this season. Next year I will drop rudder and have it checked out.
