How do I fix a crack in my rudder?

[Ed S]

The original rudder on my 81 C22 has a crack between the two pintles on the rudder. The guy at the local store suggested I post here for help, otherwise clamp it and use epoxy to fill in the crack. He thought the rudder is a foam core, and may have soaked up some water in past years and frozen during winter storage. I've kept it dry this winter but should repair soon. Ideas?Also, the bottom edge is scraped a bit (too much sandy bottom!)...and some wood is exposed. What's the best approach to repairing that edge to glass it in?Do most folks just leave the rudder in when moored, or is it worth the hassle to pull it out and lock it up all the time?Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Herb]

had the same issue

hi Ed when I bought my boat I recieved two rudders one was cracked and one was good. Well I thought I had nothing to loose on the cracked one so I used it for practice. I filled in the crack with epoxy and then sanded that smooth I then gelcoated the entire rudder and sanded and refinished the tiller with cetol. A new set of pintols and what do you know the back up rudder has become the primary > it looks great and has held up for three years now. I leave mine in place with a tiller cover and a tiller tamer to keep in in place when it is moored. The first couple of months I took it out and placed it in the cabin but that was a pain. I do not have to worry about theft here, I may do it differently if things grew legs and walked away. Herb

 

[fox]

rudder

This is a common problem with the rudders. I used fiberglass cloth and epoxy to reglass this area of the rudder and repainted. The real problem here is over torque and forces on the pintles. Catalina did not put any type of hardpoint at this location so if you over torque the pintle bolts or get a lot of force on the rudderr from sailing your seam cracks. I cleaned out the pintle holes on the rudder (removed foam) and mixed up a slurry of chopped fiberglass cloth and epoxy. Filled the holes with mixture and redrilled. I have had no problems since the repair.

 

[Randy Kolb]

Mine fractured

My 1986 rudder had a split too. Apparently this is fairly common. The inside was wood - not foam. I sealed mine all up (after 6 months of drying inside) and a few months later, in heavy wind, it split in two at the waterline. Boy was that exciting! I got a new one - they are foam now - from CD. If water is inside your rudder then glassing it up may look good but wont fix the rotting inside. I'd drill a few holes to see what shape the inside is in. Randy

 

[Aldo]

I store mine with the rudder up

Ed: I store ours with the rudder up, and the tiller tied in the center position with a flat piece of 1 inch webbing. If you walk around a marina with a bunch of C-22s you will see that everyone has a different idea on this subject. I have found that the pintles last much longer if the rudder is up and out of the water, and there is no stress on the rudder. I remove the rudder whenever a hurricane is forecast. Last time, I removed the boat from the water, and I'm glad I did. Aldo