Rudder Issue

[hhcribbs]

Ok, today was an interesting day. Winds were forecasted to be great, left work early with a buddy, headed out with our boat. Decided to do a little race practice around a mooring that is relatively close to shore and ended up hitting ground with our rudder. We have a 1980 Hunter 27' with Edson pedestal steering. Upon striking ground we could not longer turn the rudder. I entered the water and noticed that the rudder was all the way up against the hull of the boat. You could move the rudder on the starboard side back and forth, but could not get it to transition over to the port side. We spent a lengthy time standing on, prying, playing, chanting, etc. to get the rudder to move. Finally we were able to use a pry bar to change the shape of the offending piece of the rudder (top front edge just aft of the rudder shaft...shaped like a "U" where it hit the hull). It now works, but with a bit of stiffness when crossing center. I would like to fix it correctly but am unsure about how to go about it. I have done some extensive searching on this forum but haven't found another idiot quite like me.

We did manage to finish a full afternoon of sailing with no performance degradation, no water at the rudder post or any other negative symptoms....but I think I should get under there and address whatever is there.

Thanks in advance for all the advice...and I'll try not to post these types of stories too often (I hope).

Have a great weekend all!

 

[zeehag]

sounds like mebbe the rudder post may be a tad bent, vs dislodged something inside----we didnt think we had messed ours up but when it was out of the water it was toast--be careful and for good measure, try to get the rudder and post addressed--i hope you are not as surprised as we were..we didnt know for 290 miles how bad it was--we knew after a couple of days of weird performance it was not as responsive as had been, but didnt know we had trashed it. not until haul and refit of rudder--please use care ..best to inspect thoroughly than to have to wonder out in a sea or seaway...my first clue was non directionality in wake of a tug n tow in mississippi sound....

 

[CalebD]

My rudder post is bent and now what?

In some respects you are lucky that you did not lose the rudder altogether.
Your rudder post bent but did not break so you still have the rudder attached to the boat by a bent rudder post.
Next steps would include contacting Hunter to find out what size and material the rudder post is made of and the cost. Replacing the rudder post will require hauling out of the water, removing the old bent rudder post and inserting a new one and re-attaching the actual rudder to the post.
Of course you could just try to bend the rudder post back to it's vertical position but this would leave it compromised from all the bending it has been enduring. The next time you hit something with it it might very well break apart from the boat. If that happened you might need a new rudder along with a new rudder post. I would not recommend this idea at all unless you really want to try sailing hour boat without a rudder.
Another action I would take is to examine any depth charts of your lake and try to verify them with your depth meter or other means. You really do not want to lose a spade rudder on a fin keel boat.
Good luck and I hope you can keep your boat off the bottom.

 

[zeehag]

nice n easy just re did his rudder on his seidelmann 37--and he posted the repairs here in sbo, if you are interested---your spade is probably much like his---might be of interest to you.

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=119374

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=119467

 

[Ed Schenck]

Been there as they say. It appears you are in fresh water so your stainless rudder post and flange are probably solid even though bent. I had a very reputable boatyard in NC repair my 1979 rudder that was also bent. They completely rebuilt the foam and glass part but used the original hardware. I questioned the wisdom of not using a new rudder post. They assured me that straightening that heavy stainless would not compromise the strength. Sailed her another couple thousand miles since then.