Rudder Repairs on '84 Beneteau First 38

[Doug in Lakeview]

New rudder from Beneteau was like $10,000. We wanted to stay with the old rudder shaft and grid since it was so "over built & over engineered". The rudder shaft was 2.75 in diameter solid stainless steel. Reusing the old rudder shaft would have incurred shipping costs (both ways) if we had gone with Foss Foam (Florida) or other vendors - a bit expensive. We went with Skyway and are VERY happy. We dropped the rudder ourselves and delivered the old HEAVY waterlogged rudder to Skyway, a 1/2 mile trip by SUV. Cost was a bit over $4300 (including taxes).

 

[jcb2]

I think a key thing to watch when rebuilding with foam or other materials is proper weight. The weight of the rudder should ideally be not much more than its displacement. This the volume of the rudder submerged multiplied by the density of the water that you sail in. That way there’s no bearing and friction issues caused at the support of the stock. Ruddercraft produces rudders slightly heavier than their displacement.