Justin C wrote:
In article , IanM wrote:
Justin C wrote:
In article , Dave wrote:
On Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:44:58 -0000, Justin C
said:

Has anyone here experience of water in the rudder? What are the
implications of this happening?
The only issue is the tangs on the shaft assuming a stainless shaft.
There have been incidents where either the tangs inside the rudder have
been made from mild steel rather than stainless or an incorrect filler
rod was used and the tangs have rusted through at the root leading to
the rudder being free to rotate on the shaft and obviously total
steering failure.

IMO if the drained water is rusty or there is any significant rust weep
at any existing drip or rust weeps from the drilled drain hole or if
any movement between the rudder and shaft is detected when the wheel or
tiller is tied off and the blade is waggled forceably, something nasty
is probably happening inside the rudder. Options then include cutting
one or more inspection holes in one side of the blade and glassing it up
again afterwards, or various *expensive* non-destructive or minimally
destructive imaging systems that may well still leave you with
insufficient information to assess its safety or plan a repair strategy.

Repair could be handled by *any* competent yard and is difficult but
possible DIY if you have enough experience with GRP work and take the
metalwork to a pro. Specify recessed fillets of a resilient underwater
sealant where the shaft penetrates the rudder shell. GRP directly bonded
to stainless will crack at or near the join from thermal expansion
issues alone.

OTOH if there is no evidence of rust and no class history of rudder
problems its just drain and check annually when hauling out to prevent
frost damage while ashore.

The class association if there is one and/or detailed builder's plans
would be a big help.

IANAL but as the defect has been disclosed by the broker, if you accept
the boat and discover a more serious related problem you may have
limited recourse. You need an idea of the likely repair cost, a proper
survey and possibly competent legal advice.

The broker (yup, I know, don't trust him, the seller is paying him)
reckoned 1200 GBP to repair. I have a surveyor looking at it this week.
A previous survey of the vessel mentioned no give with the tiller tied
off and force applied to the rudder. I think I'll try to be optimistic -
and look at wind-vane options for backup.

That was an interesting read, thanks Ian.

Justin.



If repair work is indicated:

I have some idea where this boat is likely to be lying from one of your
other threads. You really need local advice on who is capable of
performing a competent repair of this nature. Try to find a local
berth-holder NOT resident in the immediate area and have a chat about
who to use or rather who not to! There is one company based on the
river in question that I know from personal experience has on several
occasions done work of a poor quality and attempted to over-charge with
questionable items like charges for work not done. Regrettably as I no
longer have the invoices in question or the parts that had not been
replaced and I belive the company in question has changed hands
subsequently I cannot 'name and shame' them in a public forum. I am not
alone in having problems with them and anecdotally, finding a reliable
company in the area is harder than it should be (I mostly DIY so don't
have personal experience of their competition), so it was a factor in us
moving to a different home port. OTOH my old home port has some great
suppliers that I still use in preference to local alternatives in my new
home port or home town in spite of the difficulty of getting there.

If possible, postpone this repair work until you get the boat to your
home cruising area to avoid a lot of hassle.

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
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--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL: