In searching through the archives I found a thread where people were talking about drilling a small hole in the back of the rudder to attach a rope and then using a block and tackle on the mast crutch/pole to raise the rudder. My question is this.... Is the rudder on the 23.5 a solid core or is it foam core. If you drill a hole into the back of the rudder is there a solid spot (solid fiberglass) that you can drill through? Worried about water leaking into the rudder and causing delamination or something. any help would be appreciated.... thanks James
H23.5 rudder
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Shackle on aft edge
The PO of Grasshopper drilled a hole through the aft edge of the rudder about halfway down (so it is below waterline). He said he just put a shackle there. I did so & what I do it pull on the uphaul, which gets it to just above the waterline, then snag it with the boat hook to pull it up the rest of the way. There doesn't appear to be any delamination or other issue as a result of the hole. He was the original owner of this '93 model, so I guess if there was a problem, it would have shown up by now!
The PO of Grasshopper drilled a hole through the aft edge of the rudder about halfway down (so it is below waterline). He said he just put a shackle there. I did so & what I do it pull on the uphaul, which gets it to just above the waterline, then snag it with the boat hook to pull it up the rest of the way. There doesn't appear to be any delamination or other issue as a result of the hole. He was the original owner of this '93 model, so I guess if there was a problem, it would have shown up by now!
Rudder is foam cored
It's a hard foam. It's made by FOSSFOAM. It's pretty durable stuff. The PO let the rudder drag when retrieving the boat... more that once. I bought it with a 6" flat spot on the rudder tip. I saw no signs of delamination, water damage or water intrusion. I 'fixed' it. Here's what I would do, I'd drill and 'oversized' hole and fill it with resin. Once the resin cured, I'd drill it with a smaller hole. The resin would provide a 'seal'. Just one guy's opinion. Mike
It's a hard foam. It's made by FOSSFOAM. It's pretty durable stuff. The PO let the rudder drag when retrieving the boat... more that once. I bought it with a 6" flat spot on the rudder tip. I saw no signs of delamination, water damage or water intrusion. I 'fixed' it. Here's what I would do, I'd drill and 'oversized' hole and fill it with resin. Once the resin cured, I'd drill it with a smaller hole. The resin would provide a 'seal'. Just one guy's opinion. Mike
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