Rain leaking through rudder tube

[Bay Tripper]

Hello,

I had my first over-nighter on my boat. A 1988 H26.5. My project for the weekend was to re-seal a window. I got that done and resealed the chain plates, but noticed during a rainy night that there was a steady stream of water running down the rudder tube on the inside of the boat. I could see that whatever leaked in over the years would just evaporate over time. I would like to fix this. I’m just not sure how. In my pic you can see 2 black spots. They are the holes. And just below them is a sediment deposit. The holes are at the very top of the rudder tube.
Everything up on the topside looks to be in decent shape. But maybe a seal is bad?.?. I would think that any rain water that gets in the tube should just go through it down into the bay water under the boat. Right?

Any help would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Michael Davis]

I'm sure a Hunter owner will come up with the right answer but on our old Ericson there were grease nipples top and bottom of the rudder tube to lube the rudder shaft and stop water. ???

 

[Will Gilmore]

So, rain water enters where the tiller(?) is attached, then exits the rudder tube at the holes shown in the picture? Or is this a wheel controlled rudder and there is a bull wheel or some sort of transfer above the top?
I would clean off the area for a better look and expect to be able to fix it with something like J-B Weld. Then, I'd address the energy point above the deck. Grease, maybe or replace the corroded bearings, if necessary.

Will (Dragonfly)

 

[rgranger]

On Jb weld
I’d grind it out a little bit, fill it in with jb and then maybe wrap it with muffler tape to make it all look nice

 

[kloudie1]

JB or 5200.. Just be careful to not let it get inside to the rudder post. Looks like a fabrication porosity (euphemism for Shi**y work) and not a structural concern.. Water probably pools on top of the lower post bearing and in a larger rain, can't drain through the bearing fast enough.. level in the tube builds and when it gets to the porosity, it leaks out. What is the next higher leak point? will it be a problem? I wouldn't grind, just clean it up with a brush and some alcohol then goop it closed.. Good luck

 

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[isaksp00]

I'd clean up the outside of the tube up there and use some fiberglass cloth and an epoxy like West System.

 

[CharlieSea]

Use an air die grinder or electric die grinder or drill whatever with a carbide burr (makes less dust than grinder) and dig out the bad area. Taper it out and re-laminate with small pieces of mat wetted out with polyester resin (or you can use some polyester resin with milled fibers to make a putty) until you build it out to the shape of the tube. You are trying to plug the holes. If you get to the stainless rudder tube, be careful and you may wish to wax the stainless tube only so the glass will not stick to it. Then Sand the tube (as much as seem logical) with some 40 grit by hand to avoid getting tons of fiberglass dust everywhere. Wrap some pieces of woven roving, mat or cloth wetted out in polyester resin around the tube to reinforce. Paint it with some gelcoat.

 

[Bay Tripper]

Ok. Thank you all for all of your advice. It is all much appreciated. I will grind a little bit away (maybe this spring to be honest) and see what it will take to do it right. Maybe some JB Weld, maybe all-out fiberglass and epoxy. Do you think it is just one layer of fiberglass, and the next thing is the stainless tube? Or is there an inner layer of something before I can see the stainless tube?

Thanks again,

Ryan

 

[rgranger]

If you get to the stainless rudder tube, be careful and you may wish to wax the stainless tube only so the glass will not stick to it.

Another cool trick is to take a piece of visqueen (plastic sheeting) and lay it over the beveled out grind area and trace the shape of the beveled area onto the visqueen with a sharpie. Next trace out the shape of the "bottom" which is the non-beveled area that you ground out. Draw an arrow on the visqueen showing up (you will need this later). Then take the visqueen to the shop and transfer that shape of the beveled area to a patch of fiberglass cloth. Cut out the cloth. Next start cutting concentric shapes with each being just a little smaller than the preceding shape until you get to a size that is equal to the size of the "bottom". Lay these patches on top of each other and take them back to the boat and see if they fit (and fill) the grind area well. If so, take them back to the shop and prepare to wet them with resin.

Before you wet them out, take your visqueen and run some masking tape around the edge... and lay it face up on the work bench. Wet the fiberglass cloth patches and lay them all on the visqueen over the sharpie trace. Take the visqueen to the boat and press all of the cut patches into the grind with the visqueen as an outer layer and then press the masking tape down to hold the visqueen in place. Go have a beer and wait about two hours. The visqueen will peel right off leaving a very nice, smooth, STRONG, patch that is beveled and ready for a final sanding. My neighbor builds homemade airplanes and this is a trick I got from some of his buddies. I've done this sort of patch work many times and I'm always amazed at how easy it is and how well it works.

When done I'd cover the tube with muffler wrap to make it look nice.

 

[heritage]

Do you think it is just one layer of fiberglass, and the next thing is the stainless tube? Or is there an inner layer of something before I can see the stainless tube?

I know for certain that Hunter used a rigid grey plastic tube to mold the fiberglass cockpit drain pipes. The plastic tube was not structural but was used as a mold to form the fiberglass drain pipe. I suspect the rudder tube was fabricated the same way. I also suspect the the water is entering your rudder tube between the plastic pipe and the fiberglass. That is what happened and caused a water leak on my cockpit drain pipe. Should be an easy fix once you cleanup the area.