I have an V17 with a rudder that needs among other things refinished. First of all, is there any kind of wood fill product that would work on some small cracks or would the new waterproof finish protect any regular wood fill product Two, what is the best coating I can put on the rudder to stain and waterproof it. Three, I have ground down the leading edge of the rudder except for four or five inches near the bottom. The reason being that an approximate 12 in. long and 1/4in. deep area was battered from years from the rudder obviously hitting things. It was all chewed up and to refinish it I sanded out the the rough part. I am going to reshape the leading edge but the final four/five inches of the front edge was not battered so I left it as is. I am wondering if that will affect performance or should I keep the leading edge a straight line from top to bottom or leave the original edge at the bottom intact? If anyone needs a picture I may be able to provide one if needed. This is hard to describe but posting pics for me is even harder.