Serious rudder gudgeon failure.

[SuperMarine]

My Ericson 30-II suffered a serious failure 3 miles off of MDR this past Monday when I heard the outboard rudder bumping around. I still had steering. But the lower bronze gudgeon which is permanently imbedded into "hardened epoxy" in the hull at bottom of transom had broken at the pivot point. All that is left is a stub projecting out 1.75 inch X 1/2 thick X 2 inches wide.

The rudder was suspended by it's top mount / pivot and it's steering quadrant and cables. The lower bronze bushing still on the pintle. It still steered the boat effectively in the mild conditions and I made it back without further incident.

The bronze gudgeon is embedded into the hull and after the failure is less than 2 inches long which rules out welding as it would melt the hull,

I recently rebuilt the rudder, It is a solid glass rudder, no foam. Very heavy. I fixed a few blisters, new barrier coat and new bottom paint on the rudder. Also, a new pintle bronze bushing at the bottom of the rudder. This is where the faulure happened.

I post this for advice on replacing bronze used underwater. I guess I have questions on bronze in general, specifically, can bronze that has been welded be used under water? Can it be bolted or pinned together and used in saltwater? Or, is my only recourse to have something cast in bronze? Is there such a thing as Marine grade bronze or is it all the same?

I post this in case anyone has any advice on how to proceed. I have some ideas but just I wonder if maybe someone has seen something similar and has an idea on how best to repair.

Thanks for your consideration.

Bregan.

Ericson 30-II, Hull 26

 

[Joseph Shirley]

I have a suspicion that when you replaced the bushing in the lower gudgeon that it was tight and jammed when the weight of the rudder pushed down on it. The pintles are usually slightly tapered and will tighten as they are pushed down. Anyway bronze shouldn't be welded. It is normally brazed and good brazing normally holds pretty well. If it were me however I would try yo buy a new gudgeon, grind out the old one and refasten/re-glass the new one in place.

Here are some that are readily available here but you may have to look elsewhere to find the one you need. http://www.fisheriessupply.com/onli...CO/act/A99/Ntx/mode+matchpartial+rel+Inactive

By the way there are many marine grade bronzes including aluminum bronzes, manganese bronzes, to red (high copper) Bronzes depending on the hardness and strength requirements.

Good Luck

Joe S

 

[SuperMarine]

I have a suspicion that when you replaced the bushing in the lower gudgeon that it was tight and jammed when the weight of the rudder pushed down on it. The pintles are usually slightly tapered and will tighten as they are pushed down. Anyway bronze shouldn't be welded. It is normally brazed and good brazing normally holds pretty well. If it were me however I would try yo buy a new gudgeon, grind out the old one and refasten/re-glass the new one in place.

Here are some that are readily available here but you may have to look elsewhere to find the one you need. http://www.fisheriessupply.com/onli...CO/act/A99/Ntx/mode+matchpartial+rel+Inactive

By the way there are many marine grade bronzes including aluminum bronzes, manganese bronzes, to red (high copper) Bronzes depending on the hardness and strength requirements.

Good Luck

Joe S

Thanks Joe, that is good stuff. One thing is the lower pintle actually goes up thru the gudgeon and bushing. All of the considerable weight of the rudder is carried by the top gudgeon. This is why the rudder did not fall off whn I completely lost the lower gudgeon.

I have a very clear pic but as a newb I cannot post a pic. here. I put the same question and photo on ericsonyachtowner site I rcvd one reply and it was a useful response.

I appreciate your info on marine bronze, that is kind of my main question.

Thanks again Joe.


Regards, bregan

 

[SuperMarine]

I am now official and I can post. Here is a view of another E30-II, this is almost identical to mine.

The gudgeon broke at the yellow line ....

Thanks for any input

bregan

 

[sailingdog]

I don't think you can fix this without hauling the boat. I would highly recommend getting a new one and replacing it completely. While bronze can be brazed, brazing, like welding, will generally cause an area that is more prone to corrosion and may lead to future problems.