rudder delamination fix?

[Bill VanEe]

I have a an Oday 25 1980 hull. Had the old girl since she was new. Have noticed that the rudder is splitting down the centerline of the leading edge. The crack runs from the top of the rudder down to just above the bottom pintle. Boat has been stored outside in the winter for most of its life. Not sure how big of a problem it is. Any recommends? Thanks to you all and happy sailing.

 

[R.W. Landau]

I am going to contact Foss...

I just bought my second O'Day 25. The new one is a 79. This I think is a foam rudder. It has stress cracks at about the waterline. Hopefully with some guidance from those whom have lost their rudders, maybe I can contact Foss about how a repair may be made prior to total loss.r.w.landau

 

[Ed Garcia]

Epoxy reinforcement

I bought a 1978 O'Day 25 last year and, having heard of rudder problems, did the following; First, I found the fiberglass had delaminated from the core on one side about halfway up. I used the West system epoxy to inject resin into the cavity and applied pressure to the area using sandbags. Details of how to do it can be found in their literature. Second, I applied an additional layer of glass on both leading and trailing edges, then faired it in with an epoxy filler compound. The process is not that complicated actually, just time consuming. Good luck.

 

[Doug Dannen]

Been there

I had a problem with my rudder on my 1989 272. It had a very simmular problem as you listed. I used the epoxy method mentioned by Ed. and it worked fine. One more item I did was drill a hole (1/4th inch) in the bottom of the rudder and store it in the upright position. This allowed water that had accumulated over the summer in the rudder to drain out before I put it in cold winter storage. The next spring I fill the hole with epoxy. You will be surprised as to how much water drains out of the rudder each fall.

 

[BILL VANEE]

THANKS TO ED AND DOUG RE: RUDDER DELAM.

THANKS TO ED AND DOUG. WILL GIVE THE WEST SYSTEM A TRY. IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE A LONG WINTER. NEVER PLAYED MUCH WITH EPOX AND FIBERGLASS AND HAVEN'T SNIFFED GLUE IN QUITE A WHILE. SHOULD BE A GOOD WAY TO GET THE MUSTY SMELL OUT OF THE SHOP. THANKS AGAIN AND FAIR WINDS.