Stinkin zRudder

[Bob Schmit]

So I stay home all weekend cause the heat index is 115 degrees(and this is Minnesota!) and I know I have today (Monday) vacation with great weather so the first mate and I head over to Lake Pepin and putz around for awhile and talk to neighbor in boat who is only one in the marina and get ready to head out. Take off the sail covers, warm up the rice burner(Nissan) and commence to lower the rudder.(ASIDE: I raise the rudder everytime we are finished sailing so the marine growth stays off and Hunter recommends no or white bottom paint on it which I've never done. The 26Hunter in the slip to my starboard side leaves his rudder in all the time and he has over 1" of growth on his rudder--that's a real drag!)Anyway, back to lowering the rudder- It starts to jam& I think -Oh, it's the usual- one of the up/down haul lines is caught in the cheek, so I check and i'ts fine but what I do see is one of the reddish rubber cheek plates ,or whatever they are called officially, really narley in there and jammed up and distorted. I try and release it-but absolutely jammed.The bottom line is it's now 2300, I"m home and I have the rudder assembly in the car and tomorrow I'll take it all apart and see what I need to do to repair.My question is has anyone else had this happen and will I discover that I will need to order a new rubber cheek? I'm wondering also whether these rubber parts are glued in place to the black metal plates or just all held together like a sandwich with the pressure of the thrubolts?Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Ron Fraboni]

I've Done IT

Bob, you are in luck. I live in Minneapolis area and I had to repair those rubber cheeks on my H26 last year.Yes, I agree those uphaul lines are a pain and do get trapped. I purchased a new red rubber sheet from Hunter service in Florida. It is cut to fit exactly like the old one. I then stripped off the old ones - one was ripped and one was ok - cleaned off all the old glue, cleaned all the surfaces, and reglued both back in position. You obviously have to take the whole rudder apart. The glue I used was called CO-11. It is an epoxy that comes in two cans and is good for underwater use. I found this brand at the Seven Corners hardware on 7th St. in St. Paul. If you sail Pepin, maybe you get to St. Paul or can find this epoxy elsewhere. It worked very well and I have had no trouble with the repair - but I leave my rudder down when in the water . Yes it gets grungy!Hope this info helps. E-mail me if you need more input - FraboniMN@aol.com

 

[Bob Schmit]

Thanks

I had a chance to take the rudder apart last night and found that a part of the rubber had torn and gotten jammed. I was able to cut away the bad rubber and unjam it so I should be back sailing this weekend. I think there is enough rubber still there to be ok. I am going to put bottom paint on it so I won't have to be moving it all the time except when trailering.Thank you for the advice, Ron. I'll call Hunter and get new rubber and install it in the long long off-season.