I've looked at a boat today, and the broker mentioned that the only
problem of which he is aware is that there has been water ingress to the
rudder. This is a long-keeled boat with the rudder attached aft - top
and bottom - to the keel; the kind that just has a small opening for the
propeller. The boat is of solid GRP construction - no sandwich or core,
though I'm guessing that, in the case of the rudder, it's not just a
void.

Has anyone here experience of water in the rudder? What are the
implications of this happening?

Thank you for comments and suggestions. Any references to online
material will also be gratefully received.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

On Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:35:43 -0000, Justin C
wrote:

I've looked at a boat today, and the broker mentioned that the only
problem of which he is aware is that there has been water ingress to the
rudder. This is a long-keeled boat with the rudder attached aft - top
and bottom - to the keel; the kind that just has a small opening for the
propeller. The boat is of solid GRP construction - no sandwich or core,
though I'm guessing that, in the case of the rudder, it's not just a
void.

Has anyone here experience of water in the rudder? What are the
implications of this happening?

Thank you for comments and suggestions. Any references to online
material will also be gratefully received.

Justin.

I ran over a coral head some years ago and ripped the bottom third off
the rudder, thus necessitating the rebuilding of a foam cored rudder.
There was evidence of long term water ingress in the stock and the
steel plate reinforcement which adds stiffness to the foam.

The "fiberglass guy" said that it was very common to find water in
foam core rudders as it was nearly impossible to make the joint around
the rudder stock totally water tight.

I suspect that essentially all composite rudders that have been use
for any length of time probably have some water in them.

In my rudder the stock was 4 inch thick-wall tubing and the
reinforcing plate was stainless so the presence of the water did no
significant harm to the rudder structure.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

I've had water in one rudder on each of two catamarans. Obviously you want
to get it out, but if the boat is hauled when freezing temperatures are
possible, it is more imperative to drain it. I drilled a small hole in the
side of the rudder to drain . Plugged it before launch.
The rudder post on my current boat is pipe, so I drilled holes from the
leading edge of the rudders through both walls of the pipe to drain. Plugged
the outer hole before launch. Now I can drain any water in the rudders with
a tube inserted down the rudder post, even with the boat in the water.
I was told the same thing that Bruce was, that it is difficult to get, or at
least to maintain a perfect seal to the metal post.

"Justin C" wrote in message
news:6f4a.49e2509f.95b5@zem...
I've looked at a boat today, and the broker mentioned that the only
problem of which he is aware is that there has been water ingress to the
rudder. This is a long-keeled boat with the rudder attached aft - top
and bottom - to the keel; the kind that just has a small opening for the
propeller. The boat is of solid GRP construction - no sandwich or core,
though I'm guessing that, in the case of the rudder, it's not just a
void.

Has anyone here experience of water in the rudder? What are the
implications of this happening?

Thank you for comments and suggestions. Any references to online
material will also be gratefully received.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

In article 6f4a.49e2509f.95b5@zem, Justin C wrote:
I've looked at a boat today, and the broker mentioned that the only
problem of which he is aware is that there has been water ingress to the
rudder. This is a long-keeled boat with the rudder attached aft - top
and bottom - to the keel; the kind that just has a small opening for the
propeller. The boat is of solid GRP construction - no sandwich or core,
though I'm guessing that, in the case of the rudder, it's not just a
void.

Has anyone here experience of water in the rudder? What are the
implications of this happening?

Thank you for comments and suggestions. Any references to online
material will also be gratefully received.

Thanks Bruce and GG for the feed-back. I've drawn this point in
particular to the attention of the surveyor - he might not have found it
on his own, the boats been out of the water for over a year so may have
dried out! I'm sure he'll pay very close attention to it and I'll await
his response.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

"Justin C" wrote in message
news:6f4a.49e2509f.95b5@zem...
I've looked at a boat today, and the broker mentioned that the only
problem of which he is aware is that there has been water ingress to the
rudder. This is a long-keeled boat with the rudder attached aft - top
and bottom - to the keel; the kind that just has a small opening for the
propeller. The boat is of solid GRP construction - no sandwich or core,
though I'm guessing that, in the case of the rudder, it's not just a
void.

Has anyone here experience of water in the rudder? What are the
implications of this happening?

Thank you for comments and suggestions. Any references to online
material will also be gratefully received.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

Sounds like a Vega. If so, it's a simple DIY job to get it fixed, search
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbinVega/

Alisdair

On 2009-04-15, Alisdair Gurney wrote:

Sounds like a Vega. If so, it's a simple DIY job to get it fixed, search
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlbinVega/

It isn't, though there are a few similarities. Interesting reading all
the same. Thanks for the link.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.