Next paint question ........ white rudder

[Scott B]

Ok, so I'm down at my favorite Chandlery last night buying the anti-fouling paint and I was asking the sales guy about white paint for the rudder since Micron CSC shark white is actually grey. The Hunter dealer up here paints the hulls black and the rudders white. When we were looking to buy, the sales rep from the Hunter dealer explained that the rudders were light-weight ( hollow?) and the darker paint would heat the rudder and cause it to warp when the boat was on the hard for the winter. The sales guy last night looked at me like I had two heads when I was explaining this.Anyone else heard of this idea?

 

[seadaddler]

Yes

Yes I have heard this also about painting the rudder white butI also don't ever remember seeing a white rudder and a different colorhull.I am saying almost all boats on the hard in NY were always painted the rudder the same color as the hull.I don't remember where I heard the white painting of the rudder,maybe hear in this forum.I'll be going back to Greenport,NY the first week of May to splash our Hunter 36,was planning to go back sooner but having work done our new Florida home istaking longer than planned.So when does she go in the water and are you going nuts yet with the waiting,we have been doing alot of water sight seeing here in Florida to keep us sane.Nick

 

[Ken Palmer]

Some use large pillow cases

I have noticed that a few boats here in Rochester use a large white pillowcase over the rudder during winter lay-up. The theory being the same as you mentioned. This way they paint the hull and rudder the same color. In the water there should not be a problem with the rudder getting too hot.

 

[Shell]

Rudders

I find it hard to believe tha the rudders are that weak or poorly made that the heat will warp them. Most fiberglass rudders are wrapped around a stainless steel fork. If this was the case, then wouldn't it also warp a black hull?

 

[Tim McCarty]

Seems like I read...

That rudders are painted white to reflect sunlight (instead of absorbing sunlight with darker colors). I read also that sunlight can affect the rudder in the water (and not just on the hard). The theory is that, the more sunlight the rudder absorbs, the hotter it gets and can build up moisture inside. I read this somewhere years ago...I don't paint my rudder white, and I don't know how much validity there is to this philosophy.

 

[RichH]

I now a surveyor who does the same .....

claims that mid-80s Hunter rudders will more easily delaminate from thermal stress while on the hard if the rudders are painted 'dark'. This might be an 'urban legend' but when a reknown surveyor does it, one does take notice.

 

[higgs]

Rudders

I would think the biggest concern with a rudder, up north, is freezing in the winter. It is very difficult not to get some water inside a rudder and sometimes that will crack the rudder when it freezes. Thus, wouldn't it be better to attract the sun's heat?The rudder is not hollow, but typically filled with foam material.

 

[Jeff D]

White

I have heard that for years. Never painted mine white. When on the hard, I do cover the rudder with a light colored plastic bag. Can't imagine one in the water could be affected. I do know that the rudders made by Foss absorb water, most likely where the shaft enters the rudder. When I pull, I drill small holes at the bottom of the rudder and the water drains out instead of freezing and expanding, bubbling the ruder. I live with fresh water so rust inside is not as big an issue.

 

[Jack]

white rudder

From what my dealer told me the rudder is foam on the inside with a fiberglass wrap. They like to paint the reuuder a 'light' color to prevent any chance of the sun warping it. I am still wet behind the ears but i haven't heard of a rudder warping with over exposure to the sun and heat. However the dealers must have heard of one. My guess it would happen in the southern states during the warmer months while on the hard. IMHO.J&R

 

[John]

hull, too

The guy who cleans the hulls of many boats in my marina once told me that, for him, it's much better to paint the hull a light color. He says it's much easier to see what has to be cleaned off. He said black makes it hardest. I suppose this only matters for boats which don't get hauled out every winter.

 

[Daryl]

Answer direct from FOSS FOAM

Al Walker at Foss Foam (who make rudders for Hunter that I ain't impressed with) informed me that the rudders should be white. The reason is that they get very hot in the sun while on the hard and will build pressure up inside them. Launch your boat in cold spring water and they pressure inside the rudder drops in a hurry and you can actually suck water inside them. That's the beginning of the end for your rudder.I bought two new rudders and painted them both Shark White. They fell apart anyway due to a poor internal design

 

[Harlan]

Foss foam rudders

Been there and called Foss Foam. Huge 'blister' appeared, 8 - 10" dia, 3/4" deep, on my dark blue rudder on OD34. Skin delaminates from the foam. (Doesn't warp - it develops blisters.) Foss says it is the result of heating from the sun during winter storage. Put your hand on a dark blue/black rudder vs white on a sunny day and you'll see the huge temp difference. So long as the rudder is dry (mine was) fix is relatively easy - cut out area and reglass and fair. Then paint white and it won't happen again. And white is easier to see slime and keep clean.Rudders are SS weldment, foam filled, fiberglass skin. They should not have water in them and I'd be concerned if my did. SS (a weld in particular) is not happy in salt water when trapped without oxygen.PS - whenever I've had a hardware problem I've called the hardware manufacturer (Foss, Raymarine, Rudy @ D&R for O'Day, etc.). I've found them to consistently be very helpful and willing to give you the straight story.

 

[Jon6436]

Does White Paint Protect the Rudder?

I've had rudders delaminate on two of 3 boats (all from the same boat builder).All three rudders were painted 'boat bottom blue.'One rudder was a 'swing-up' type, and it delaminated swung-up in the water, in the sun. The other delaminted whiile on the hard for winter storage. (Unfortunately the rudder was not shielded with a white wrapper during storage.) That rudder was not exposed to the sun while in the water.The rudder that did not delaminate, hung on transom-mounted gudgeons and was not a swing-up type, therefore experienced little sun exposure while in the water. Therefore it seems that sun exposure is a killer on dark colored rudders.The question is:Does anyone have proven experience that white (or a light colered) paint prevents rudder delamination?

 

[Joseph Shirley]

I had a Black Irwin Rudder badly damaged by the sun

when I was in Mexico. The side the sun hit completely de-laminated with blisters. I had to strip it and redo the whole thing. I will never use a dark bottom paint again. I also cover my rudder so the sun can't hit it. White bottom paint gets very dirty and scummy looking so quick, that I wouldn't use it unless I was dry sailing (hauling out after every use).

 

[Scott B]

Thanks guys

I thought it made sense, but was surprised at the reaction at the store.

 

[sailaway78]

Same answers

There has to be something to the darker colors and problems with the glass doing funny things. While not everyone agrees, there is a common thread concerning problems from heat. I ask a short time ago the same basic question concerning a dark hull color. Answers were very similar. Will not do a dark blue hull, which I would really like to do, but not worth the risk of damaging the hull.

 

[jacksam]

white rudder

Scott I have a 2004 hunter 33 and was told by the dealer RCR that my Warranty would not cover my rudder if it was not painted white.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

makes me wonder

While I agree about the heat problem, I recall while visiting the H factory this winter that all the boats going out the door which had been bottom painted at the factory had rudders painted in the same dark color as the hull.Guess they either don't care or are more knowledgeable than we are.

 

[sailaway78]

Hunter bottom paint

I thought that the new Hunters came standard without bottom paint. Bottom paint was added as an option, or by the delivering dealer. But still, I would think Hunter would tell folks if it was a big deal, and especially if a dark rudder would void any warranty.

 

[saltygator]

White Hunter Rudder

I have a 93 Hunter 30 and the owners manual advises to paint the rudder white because of heat build-up in the Foss Foam. My boat yard laughed at me too. Thankfully my red rudder was in the shade untill the boat went back into the water.