Rudder repairs

[racenmotorsports]

@Project_Mayhem yeah, it's got foam on the inside.

As far as epoxy, I went with US Composites. It was the best price I could find anywhere and since I was in Georgia, I had it in 2 days.
I'm learning that it's not that difficult if you plan it correctly and try to do all the work on one side instead of planning to do some on one and some on the other.
I'll have more pictures later, I think I just did the last fills this morning so all that's left is drilling and fairing it out tomorrow before final sand then paint.

 

[racenmotorsports]

Finally finished the rudder and the last coats of the rustoleum marine bottom paint. This is a lake boat, so the biggest thing to worry about is slime. The boat had been in the water for at least 7 years before I got it and that's all that was on it. So, if it lasts another two, I"ll be happy.

From the last picture above, best I can tell, I filled the holes with thickened epoxy, laid some chopped strand and some mat (1708?).


Then I used a forstner bit to drill out the 3/8" hole where the tiller mounts. The hole was elongated probably from people pushing down on the tiller. I didn't drill completely through the back side, so there was some fiberglass backing for the epoxy to bond with.


I used a mixture of straight epoxy to wipe the interior of the hole down, then I made some thickened epoxy with Chopped strand.


I forgot about how it expands and I ended up with this, but that vibrator cutter and some 80 grit on a random orbit sanded took it right off.


I built up the edge where the tiller arm rides on the rudder to keep it from rubbing on the back of the boat, The gelcoat is worn off and provides a nice light when you're under the cockpit (not really).


After this, I made some fairing compound, it mixes much like the cabosil thickener until it gets to a bondo like consistency. I faired the repairs and sanded it down, redrilled the bracket holes, then final sanded for painting.


A bunch of paint later, the rudder is finished. I have to let it sit 24 hours before putting it on the boat.



The hardest part of the whole project was getting the guts to cut into the rudder and start the repairs. Epoxy overall was much easier to work with than I thought. Rudder is now sealed all around and should last another bunch of years.

Thanks to @Project_Mayhem and everyone else that gave me advice on here.
If you have any questions, let me know.