Rudder refinishing

[Jim Winjum]

I purchased a 1974 C22 this fall. One of my winter projects is to refinish the rudder. It has a number of chips and nicks that need to be filled in.I have several questions:1. I am wondering about the composition of the rudder. Is it fiber glass over a wood core? What do others use to fill in chips and dents?2. The rudder is heavily painted. It has what appears to me as a white enamel paint. Over that is a chaulky blue bottom-paint from the water line to the bottom of the rudder. I will have to remove at least this layer of paint. I am not sure what is under the white paint or whether that need removing.3. I am wondering how important bottom paint is on the rudder. The boat generally will be in a slip during the season (April - Oct.) It is in a cold, fresh water lake.Any thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

 

[Jay Beery]

Rudder Refinish

Jim,I was in the same boat you are. Sorry about the pun. I knew I would be trailering for at least a year, so I sanded down the rudder with an orbital sander until I hit the original gelcoat. After scuffing up the gelcoat, I filled the chips with epoxy and filler from West Marine, then sanded smooth. I then put about 2-3 coats of two part poly paint. I did not put any anti-fouling paint on it as it would not be in the water enought to need it. Good luck and have fun. Remember if you don't like the results, you can always sand off and start again.

 

[john renfro]

turner

i have a 1976 22. my rudder is made of a 1 inch thick plywood core and covered with some type of epoxy to make it 2 inches thick and covered with a thin fiberglass cloth with gellcoat over thatgood luckjohn

 

[Jim Winjum]

Thanks

Thanks for the helpful comments. At least with the rudder it is a limited project and can be good education.