My rudder broke off
- Thread starter wardk
- Start date
It is a 1999 Hunter 310, has anyone had this happen to theirs? Hunter in their wisdom use a fiberglass shaft for a few years.I have been in touch with Foss Foam they don't have a mold for this rudder.I need to know the length of the shaft and how far the rudder is off the ground when on the hard. Crane out day is fast approaching and I will have to modify my cradle height to install the new rudder. Any helpful info would be appreciated.
The boat came loose from the mooring buoy and ended up on the shoals.After we got her out the rudder was gone, it was found against the dam down wind.
Did you talk to Foss Foam in Florida? The one in Florida website is called newrudders.com I think there is a Foss Foam somewhere out west too. They may or may not be related. If you haven't you need to call them directly at 353-529-1104. Good people there. If you send them your rudder and a few specs on the shaft they can probably construct one for you
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Foss Foam and New Rudder are basically the same company. In addition this forum store should have the build list gf parts. First call Al or mike at the forum store and ask for shaft size and length. Then call Foss Foam if the forum store cannot get one made for you. You do have the old rudder
When I bought my Hunter 28 the wheel was hard to turn and had lots of looseness when heeling. At inspection we could move the top with the quadrant sideway 360deg.
When the boat was hauled out and on the ground and after hard work taking off the quadrant (bolts rusted/jammed!), we found that the hull was broken around the shaft and the shaft tube was separated from the hull!
Since we were on gravel ground, we asked the marina if we could dig under the rudder. We had a yes and we were able to slide down the rudder for repair.
If you cannot dig under it, measure the distance from top of quadrant to bottom of your hull where it exit, to get the height you need to lift your boat.
Maybe you can also take the shaft off with the quadrant from the top of the boat to measure the shaft before haul-out. But check if the rudder tube is waterproof not to sink when you remove the shaft!
Attached are pictures of the repair/reinforcement I made to the upper bearing of my rudder to make it "bulletproof". Unfortunutely I did not take pictures before repair.
When the boat was hauled out and on the ground and after hard work taking off the quadrant (bolts rusted/jammed!), we found that the hull was broken around the shaft and the shaft tube was separated from the hull!
Since we were on gravel ground, we asked the marina if we could dig under the rudder. We had a yes and we were able to slide down the rudder for repair.
If you cannot dig under it, measure the distance from top of quadrant to bottom of your hull where it exit, to get the height you need to lift your boat.
Maybe you can also take the shaft off with the quadrant from the top of the boat to measure the shaft before haul-out. But check if the rudder tube is waterproof not to sink when you remove the shaft!
Attached are pictures of the repair/reinforcement I made to the upper bearing of my rudder to make it "bulletproof". Unfortunutely I did not take pictures before repair.
Attachments
I have been in touch with Foss Foam, they are working on it. The questions I need answered are in my original post
Thanks for your help ,did your rudder have a fibergiass shaft? I will check but I don't think there is any gravel spots on the parking lot where my boat winters. I will talk to the marina manager about cutting the assfault on the promise of a full repair after.
Rather than modify your cradle, you might work out a deal with the yard to hang the boat from the travel lift for a day or two once you have the new rudder shaft and are ready to install. You won't need that height until then. You obviously don't need it to take the current rudder out...
dj
I bought this at SBO shops, and fit perfectly
Repairing boat after Hurricane Zeta
Look above link.
Jim...
PS:
I did this for my rudder replacement. We got all the bolts loose while were waterborne except the main through bolt. We then pulled the boat and dropped the rudder while in the sling and put the boat back in the water and moved it to slip with a power boat an a side tie. The shaft goes through and emerges well above the waterline so the boat can sit in the water with the rudder out. (Its a little un-nerving to look through the shaft opening and see water though) Once the rudder was pulled I took it to Foss Foam on a trailer and they turned it around pretty quickly. We then pulled the boat from the water and installed the rudder in about 30 minutes while in the slings. We then put it back in the water and finished the install.
They can put it back in the water without the rudder installed if it is like most Hunter rudder shaft arrangements. Once you get your new rudder, it won't take "days" to install. We lifted the boat in the slings, put the shaft of the rudder into the opening and chocked the bottom. We then carefully lowered the boat "onto the rudder shaft" and when it was in, installed the long pin in the radial and snugged up the 4 clamping screws. Much easier and quicker than I ever expected. It should not take days in the slings to simply install the rudder. In theory, you can even install it waterborne but I'm not sure I'd try that.
Thanks @Crazy Dave Condon Getting a thumbs up from you is a compliment. Your experience on this forum is invaluable!
We don't have a sling , we get a crane charges us 20 dollars a minute to get the boat from the water to the cradle.
Wow $1200 an hour just for the crane. I hope they don't dawdle around when they move the boat. At 30 minutes to position the lifting slings, lift the boat and set it down on the cradle that is $600 minimum one way and $1200 to haul, block, and launch. 
Since you are already out of the water and the rudder is removed you can do most of the work like replacing the bearings and getting the new/rebuilt rudder done while you are on the cradle. Then when you lift the boat to put it back in the water, you can install the rudder when they lift for putting back in the water. As long as you have all your ducks-in-a-row it shouldn't take more than about 20 to 30 extra minutes to get the rudder stock up into the boat and the large pin installed and clamping bolts snugged up. Once we got things lined up with two guys guiding, it went in pretty fast. Maybe we were lucky. The yard I use had done this before and were very good at this approach.
If you don't trust the yard crane operator to have a slow and steady hand you can start it with a floor jack but you'll need the crane operator to still lower most of the way since the floor jack only has a limited range of motion or you'll be repositioning the floor jack frequently. I don't know how heavy your rudder is but a few strong guys might be able to lift the rudder up into the boat once it is started. Best of luck.
If you don't trust the yard crane operator to have a slow and steady hand you can start it with a floor jack but you'll need the crane operator to still lower most of the way since the floor jack only has a limited range of motion or you'll be repositioning the floor jack frequently. I don't know how heavy your rudder is but a few strong guys might be able to lift the rudder up into the boat once it is started. Best of luck.