A hole in the rudder.
"Joe" wrote
Water dripping out of a rudder give me the willies, recipe for disaster.
According to two boatyards I've talked to, it's far more common than you
would think. They say the only foam and glass rudders that don't have some
water in them are the ones where no holes have been drilled to check.
Considering the strains and the nature of the materials and interface where
the stock enters, I think water intrusion is pretty much inevitible with
conventional construction. Only something like leaving a space in the foam
and injecting something tenacious and resiliant like 5200 around the places
where the shaft enters is likely to keep water out.
My rudder was in fresh water until 2005 so I'm not as concerned about it as
I might be. However, I do plan to remove and rebuild it before too many
years.
--
Roger Long
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