Painting Foss Foam rudder

[Warren Milberg]

My '86 H28.5 has a Foss Foam rudder. The tech/info sheet that came with states it should be painted a light color, presumably to prevent it from absorbing heat and expanding when the boat is on the hard and gets direct sunlight. When I bought the boat, the rudder had been painted blue, the same color as the rest of the bottom paint. I have been painting it shark white ever since. Is this necessary? What do those of you with Foss Foam rudders do?

 

[DannyS]

I would continue painting it white if I were you. I did a major rudder re-build last spring because of fiberglass delamination due to what I suspect was part heat expansion but more likely a little bit of water getting inside the rudder and expanding from the freeze thaw cycle. Maybe one is directly related to the other. Either way, every little bit would help for piece of mind. After my repair, I still painted it with VC-17 which turns dark gray but when it's on the hard, I wrap the rudder in white shrinkwrap.

 

[Scott B]

Hunter dealer up here paints all the new rudders white. I've been keeping mine Shark White since we bought it. Not sure how necessary, but Foss Foam confirmed they should be white or a light colour.

 

[Rich M]

I also have a replacement Foss Foam rudder on my 85 28.5, that is over 10 years old. I continue to paint it white and do cover it in the winter with a white cloth cover. I will continue to do this as I think anything I can do to keep my sailing costs down helps me continue to sail.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Would always want the rudder to match the bottom. Used to be black when I was using modified-epoxy then red when I switched to ablative. I guess if I worried about it I would just cover it through the winter. But I don't.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Warren...

I would suspect that the typical light blue bottom paint we all use would be light enough a shade to satisfy Foss's requirements.

The real racy guys up here are using white or lt. gray on their rudders to be able to spot any weed pick-up (we get a lot of that from the Susq. Flats, especially after a storm).

We have several boats in our marina using a water-based black bottom paint. I think that would be what Foss is warning abainst.

 

[Jeff]

I use blue VC17 and when on the hard wrap it in an old white bed sheet. It's worked for 9 years now.

 

[Scott B]

From my post of 2008 & the Foss Foam website....




The other post on rudders got me thinking about checking the Foss Foam (Newrudders.com) website for info and found this;


We recommend that white paints be used. White is a popular color and makes it easy to see weeds and other debris that can catch on your rudder. We do not recommend the use of dark color bottom paint for your rudder, as they generate heat whenever your boat is out of the water and in the sun. Since your rudder is made of cellular material this heat can cause dimensional changes and cosmetic damage. If the rudder is painted a dark color it should be shielded from the sun with a white wrapping whenever the boat is out of the water. YOUR RUDDER WARRANTY EXCLUDES DAMAGE CAUSED BY HEAT.

 

[sandpiper10471]

Glass, foam and stainless expand and contract at different rates. Certainly the glass and poly sheathing covering the foam can move with heat changes and not be jeopardized. The problem is the stainless shaft. When the glass covering and the stainless shaft move at different rates, a crack occurs where the shaft enters the rudder and subsequently water gets in. And closed cell foam WILL absorb and be saturated. Then the freeze-thaw cycle gets worse. So keep an eye on that joint at the top and keep the water out. Anything, like light coloured paint, that will help is good.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Bought my 84 H34 in Spring 2000. Hauled out that Fall and found some delamination and swelling on the painted blue rudder. Drilled a few holes under the bottom part of the rudder and water immediately started seeping out. Covered the rudder with a light cloth (pillow case style with velcro) and let it drain and dry over the winter.

Spring of 2001 I fixed the area that was delaminated, plugged the holes, repainted blue like the rest of the bottom and launched.

Cover with the same pillow case every Fall. No problem since but I do drill a few holes every couple of years just to check. Unlike that first Fall, I generally do not get more than a few drops, so I just plug up in the Spring and don't worry about it.