Hunter 30 Skeg assessment

[QChunter]

Hi group, first time poster. I bought a hunter 30 1979 last year and everyday is a new discovery!
with the mild temperatures all the snow melted (Montreal) so i took a chance to remove my handrails and when inspecting the boat i saw kind of a delamination of the skeg. You can also see that the previous owner had some kind of black silicone in the inner joint.
I do not know what to do with this. what would you recommend in the short run and the long run?

thank you

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

hard to tell if that is the skeg or something else, skegs don’t delaminate. The efficacy of any attempt to repair is dubious.

 

[jssailem]

Welcome to the SBO Forum. Congrats on your “new to you” boat acquisition.

My first rule of boat ownership… Keep the water on the outside of the boat.

It looks like the former owner tried but did a patch up job. This job is in the process of failing.

You asked “what would you recommend in the short run and the long run?”

Short run.. Learn about boat repair. Then repair the damage so that water does not enter the boat.
The delamination in last image is serious. Water is under the fiberglass. This is a rebuild project. It will not get better. The black goo was temporary poor fix.

Check out the videos of Andy at BoatworksToday.com

Good luck.

 

[rgranger]

I am having a hard time picturing where that is on your boat... and what it has to do with handrails. Maybe stand back a few feet and take the pic again.

 

[Roland5048]

I have the same boat although a '77. I had to replace my skeg several years ago due to a hard grounding and ripping the skeg off. It floated away. ( Long story). Good news is the skeg is bolted to the hull. Access the nuts inside the hull, back them off and remove the skeg, repair and replace. If you should lose the skeg while underway, you will in all probability also lose your rudder making a bad situation even worse. Sinking is a real possibility here. Take care of this before you splash.

 

[QChunter]

Hi Roland, good to know, in some other post they claimed that the skeg is not holding the rudder but I will have to unbolt to be shure. Seems that all your inputs aim at the same solution. Remove and repair ASAP

 

[QChunter]

I am having a hard time picturing where that is on your boat... and what it has to do with handrails. Maybe stand back a few feet and take the pic again.

I added a picture, the arrow shows the place where the photo was taken. I might add that is seems that on this photo there are 3 kind of cercles on the skeg showing a probable previous repair.

 

[Caboteur]

Bonjour QChunter,
Depending on your knowledge, available space to do the repair and budget, CB marine in Valleyfield can do this repair in their shop before the May splash date.
There are several ways you can do this... you can ask them to do the whole job, you can disassemble the skeg/rudder assemblage and bring it to them and you also can do all of this yourself if you have a shop of your own... the resin/hardener mixture won't kick in our temperatures; the work must be done inside a heated enclosure!
Give them a call: they've done very good work on my boats. CB marine
Pierre

 

[LloydB]

sailboatowners.com/threads/h30-replacing-skeg-with-spade-rudder.159179/

 

[ggrizzard]

Lloyd, I can't seem to 'follow' the track to the thread you listed.
Any specific locale?
Thanks, G.

 

[dlochner]

Here's the correct URL:

H30 replacing skeg with spade rudder

Hello, I have taken my '81 H30 skeg apart due to delamination. I have previously read about a gentleman that used a H37 spade rudder design and permanently replaced his skeg. Can someone point me in the right direction, any information is truly appreciated.. Thank you

forums.sailboatowners.com

forums.sailboatowners.com/threads/h30-replacing-skeg-with-spade-rudder.159179/

 

[Roland5048]

Hi Roland, good to know, in some other post they claimed that the skeg is not holding the rudder but I will have to unbolt to be shure. Seems that all your inputs aim at the same solution. Remove and repair ASAP

Didn't mean to imply that the rudder would just fall out. But, losing the skeg and the support that it provides laterally would, in my opinion, put undue force on the rudder causing it to come out of alignment and, if not fall out, unlikely, at the least cause a major leak thru the rudder tube. Just speaking from experience.
Cheers

 

[MikeHoncho]

Didn't mean to imply that the rudder would just fall out. But, losing the skeg and the support that it provides laterally would, in my opinion, put undue force on the rudder causing it to come out of alignment and, if not fall out, unlikely, at the least cause a major leak thru the rudder tube. Just speaking from experience.
Cheers

The quadrant will keep the rudder tube from sliding out but the rest will be a mess.