Rudder and shaft damage Cat 34

[Prime Time]

Hi,
I'm interested in hearing opinions on the proper way to go about assessing damage and repairing the rudder and rudder shaft after damage. My friends 2001 Catalina 34 (wing keel) suffered damage after a soft grounding on sand. The boat had to be towed off a sand bar. The rudder became inoperable.

-Inspection of rudder shaft stuffings box appeared to show that the stuffings box moved with rotation of the rudder shaft, and was leaking around the packing.
-On haul out, the rudder/shaft appeared to have been bent and shoved up. The top of the rudder was damaged and pushed to the port side of the bustle. There was separation of the rudder from the skeg-like hull projection in front of the rudder.

The yard manager took a look at things and thought he might be able to fix things without dropping the rudder, which did not seem right.

 

[sailingdog]

Your friend really should hire a surveyor to inspect the damage to the rudder, and the stern of the boat. If the grounding was hard enough to bend the shaft, it could have broken other things as well.

 

[sailaway78]

Need someone who knows

Your friend needs to find someone who knows, not thinks, they know what to do. A good surveryor is a probable starting place. Anyone who thinks they can fix this without dropping the rudder, would be someone I would avoid. Even if it would be possible to fix without dropping it, would be virtually impossible to inspect the rudder tube and other parts probably effected. The effects from it not being properly done are far to serious to take any chances in this area.
And by the way, IMHO, would not consider a grounding where had to be towed off, and a rudder shaft damaged, as a soft grounding.

 

[Prime Time]

Definition

The tow company considered it a soft grounding and covered the service. It is a matter of semantics vs. legal definitions. Hard groundings tend to be considered salvage.

The insurance company will be involved: Can one insist on having the boat surveyed vs just sending an adjuster? The structural issues involved seem above the scope of the average surveyor that I have met. I have been unimpressed by most of the surveys I have seen.

I agree that without pulling the rudder, you can't completely evaluate the situation. Straightening the shaft in place seems likely to stress the rudder tube/bearings.

Has anyone had the job done on their boat or that of a friend?

 

[s sauer]

It's ironic that most shoall draft winged keel boats now have rudders that are as deep as the keel. Not much good can happen when you do go aground and dig in the rudder tip as well. You also can't heel the boat over to get off. If you couldn't hall it straight back from the direction you grounded, I'mguessing you would have been better served to wait for the next high tide.

 

[Prime Time]

Timing of rudder damage

It's ironic that most shoall draft winged keel boats now have rudders that are as deep as the keel. Not much good can happen when you do go aground and dig in the rudder tip as well. You also can't heel the boat over to get off. If you couldn't hall it straight back from the direction you grounded, I'mguessing you would have been better served to wait for the next high tide.

The rudder is the depth of the keel. I think that the rudder damage may have occurred as the boat first hit. On a run under spinnaker, unable to instantly turn around or back up. The wheel became hard to turn early in the process. It certainly could have worsened with the tow.

 

[Steve Dion]

Assuming that there is insurance, I would let them determine the best way to do the repair. If it is not right, they can redo it at their expense.

Assuming that there is NO insurance, I would contact Catalina about a replacement rudder. You can spend a lot of money trying to save money and the end result may be more expensive that doing it correct the FIRST time.

 

[Stu Jackson]

In addition to these good ideas,

I'd ask the "experts" on C34s: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/board,11.0.html

 

[CalebD]

BTW, I think that the insurance co. would hire a marine surveyor to inspect and assess the damage, not an adjuster or a repair guy. Find a good surveyor.