Frank- there are solvent free epoxies (you want the solvent free
ones for this application!) that will bond to damp or wet
surfaces. Similar to what many folks to when deck cores begin to
delaminate, rot out, etc, you drill lots of holes to drain and dry
as best you can, then begin injecting a water bonding epoxy into
the holes.....

not the 'by the book repair' one would like, but very commonly
done anyway. You are sort of replacing the water with epoxy....

paul oman (beware, I'm a commercial vendor and in the business -
pls filter my suggestions accordingly)



Frank wrote:
I hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question. But I've noticed
what appears to be small cracks in my rudder on my 28 ft sloop. It's a
fiberglass spade rudder. The rudder is approximately four feet in
height. The bottom of the rudder on one side ( no more than a foot and
a half from the bottom edge) is showing small "X"'s and lines about
1.5 to 2 inches in length.
I first noticed them last year, just before launching the boat for
the season. I covered them up with bottom paint since I didn't have
the time to investigate. When the boat came out of the water in the
Fall I began to see these same cracks appearing thru the bottom paint
again.
Does anyone have any experience with this or has seen it before. I'm
thinking that water has penetrated the gelcoat and is leaking out when
the boat is up on the stands during the off season.
If this is the case, anyone have suggestions for the best way to rid
all of the water out of the rudder? Oh, and one other note. This
rudder ( and hull) was stripped down to the gelcoat and had barrier
coat applied in the late 1990's. Water shouldn't be penetrating it at
all.

Frank