How much does your O day 26 rudder weigh?

[jfschena]

Mine weighs 37 lbs without the tiller. Has anyone else weighed theirs? I'm wondering about it being water logged. It's been out of the water all winter. There are no holes in it so I guess it could still be heavy--if it leaked--from last season.

Any thoughts?

I'm planning to take off the pintles, inspect and rebed them. Sand and reapply bottom paint. Do some gel coat repair. Is there a good way to measure or inspect for moisture in the interior?

Overall, it seems in good shape.

 

[jfschena]

Update, I drilled a couple of small hole in the bottom. Got about a 1/4 cup of water out. I'll let it dry out good and patch the holes. . .

 

[haebby]

The original rudder that came with our 26 was 32 lbs. we recently ordered a new one from DR - the new one weighs a whopping 70.5 lbs.

 

[Apex]

jf: some even will place a shopvac on the bottom holes to help evacuate moisture. Drill and dry is standard practice as far as i know, but a LONG process.

 

[jfschena]

Thanks everyone. That new rudder is heavy! Does it change the boat trim in the water?

 

[haebby]

That new rudder is heavy! Does it change the boat trim in the water?

Not more than a crew member sitting on the bow pulpit. But I was surprised how heavy it is.

 

[jfschena]

I've sanded the rudder with 80 grit. In the process I found 2 areas that justified further investigation. I found a minor 1 inch spilt on the trailing edge and some pitting on the bottom trailing edge corner. I'm planning on using epoxy resin, and filler to fair then glassing over the 2 areas. See pictures. To expose these areas I removed bottom paint, primer, gell coat. For final finishing, can I just prime over cured resin and then bottom paint? Any thoughts?