Hunter 37C Rudder Failure

[Merrickm65]

I was sailing across the Chesapeake Bay towards Cape Charles on a broad reach in 15-20kts of wind and 3 foot seas off the starboard quarter. I was using a 135 genoa and a full main and had been sailing at hull speed for several hours. I was not significantly over-powered as the rudder was able to counteract the swells and wind gusts to prevent ever rounding up. Approxiately 5 miles from Cape Charles, without warning, noise or vibration, I lost all stearage and rounded up. Knowing there was something wrong with the steering system, I immediately furled the genoa. With the boat now heaved-to, it was time to investigate what had failed. As I headed to the aft cockpit lockers, I saw my rudder floating away - not a good feeling!

I was still watertight and luckily, one of my fellow cruisers was only about 1 mile astern and was able to come and give me a tow into port!

Once pierside visual inspection revealed that the rudder shaft sheared 2-3 inches below where it exits the hull. I have owned the boat for 10 years and have not had any previous rudder problems. It had been 2 years since last hauled out.

I have searched the archives and read the Jul/Aug 2003 thread concerning Judy's rudder failure. Are there others that I should look at? Is Foss Foam still the best source for a new rudder?

Any lessons learned or recommendation would be greatly appreciated!

Mark
s/v Moonwind
1981 Hunter 37C

 

[DeniseO30]

Water logged rudder from being wet so long. They nearly all get wet inside the foam core. Did you recover the piece? It can be rebuilt!

 

[Merrickm65]

No, there was no opportunity to recover the rudder. By the time help arrived and I was in tow, the rudder was long gone.

I believe the fiberglass/foam portion of the rudder was undamaged and the rudder shaft separated just above the actual rudder. Unfortunately I could do nothing but watch it float away. It was 15-20 feet away from the boat when I first saw it, and moving away quickly in the seas.

Did anyone find a blue rudder floating on the Chesapeake Bay this weekend?

 

[Don12364]

What is the material of the rudder stock and approx diameter? Solid or tubular?

I recall that when Hunters went over to FRP rudder stocks they built a rig to make comparative strength tests.
They reported they could break the stainless steel ones but whilst testing the FRP version the rig destroyed itself - so they concluded composite was better!

 

[Ed Schenck]

Really no value in recovering the rudder. Taking it apart to replace the rudder stock will cost at least as much as a new rudder. The stock is very heavy stainless tubing. It is hard to understand how one would shear off unless it hit something. Did you ever have a grounding or anything else that could have weakened it? You know how anal Blaise is about his boat. He lost his rudder last year on the way back from Mexico to St. Pete. I think in the same way. On the other hand I had my rudder rebuilt in 2008 using the same stainless, now 32 years old. Your story concerns me.

 

[Blaise]

When my rudder failed it did so after hitting a large object as we slid down a wave. From the remains, it was clear that it was a lateral impact that fractured the tube on the impact side and then peeled a two inch strip of the tube up on the down impact side. In my case, there was no evidence of corrosion. It failed well above the top of the rudder blade. I have heard of H37 cutters losing their rudders but in almost all cases they were shoal draft boats that have been grounded and then had the rudder shaft straightened. I don't think that is a good idea unless you never plan to sail out of cell phone range. When I had Foss Foam (still the best choice for replacement rudders) build Midnight Sun's new rudder I had them put a solid steel insert in the rudder tube for the first foot into the rudder and extend up two feet into the hull. At the time, I thought I had come up with the perfect bullit proof rudder. As Ed says I am a little anal when it comes to ocean racing, and even though we sailed the boat back 240 miles to Florida without a rudder, it is not something I would like to repeat. Now I am wondering if I didn't eliminate a crucial frangible link, and instead set myself up to rip the whole stern out of the boat if we hit something else. I keep preaching to not screw with John C's design and need to listen to my own advice.

 

[Ed Schenck]

You took the words out of my mouth Blaise. I had written on other occasions about an idea to insert a second tight fitting stainless tube inside the rudder stock. The problem is, as you point out, the likelihood of tearing the stern out of the boat. Same idea with putting a big backing plate inside behind the strut. Would you rather have two one inch holes or a hole the size of the strut plate?

 

[Merrickm65]

Your replies have are greatly appreciated.

I have a shoal draft and I did go aground in soft sand several weeks ago. Until reading these posts, I did not think there was any chance that any structural damage had occurred. I was motoring into port, navigating an unfamilar channel, and came to a gradual stop. I shifted to nuetral while evaluating why I ran aground. Although I was still between the channel markers, I determined that I must be too close to the right side of the channel. I put the transmission back in gear, applied a few hundred more RPMs than I had been running previously and turned the bow towards the center of the channel. I had little difficulty getting back in good water. The waters were calm and I felt no vibrations through the wheels indicating my rudder had hit anything hard.

Cruising on the Chesapeake leads to many stories of groundings similar to mine described above. But given that I only draw 4 ft, this is the first time that it had happend to me in over 5 years.

While the timing of these two events indicate that the grounding and the loss of the rudder were related, it concerns me that such a soft grounding would cause this amount of structural damage.

I will keep you posted as to what I find when removing the old rudder post.

Mark