1991 Rudder Repair

[inair]

I posted some time back some questions with pics as I was removing my rudder and trying to decide what to do about it. Thanks to all the good info here, I ended up buying a new rudder from DIM and am finally getting started on the install.

As I am tearing it apart I'm trying to understand what I'm looking at and since there are some experienced folk here, maybe you've seen it before and can help me make sure of what is going on

So I've taken off the rudder and the through hull hardware. Now there is a built up pad around the area, I assume to distribute the forces generated by rudder action. It looks like a piece of glassed in plywood. I poke it a bit and dark water leaks out of an area where the glass is thin enough to puncture easily. So I tear off the plywood and find that the plywood pad is hollowed out in the middle to accomodate an area of thick (3/8"?) resin around the rudder hardware holes that is uneven in shape. It seems weird but not impossible to have been done this way at the factory, but maybe more likely done as a repair some time later?

Has anyone done this repair? If so, what does the area look like and how did you fix it? I'm thinking to grind off all that built up resin and start with a fresh glassed in pad for the new hard ware. The thing that concerns me is that if the built up area was done that way from the factory, they may have had a reason for it? I don't know much about how these things were built so any input will be useful.

What do you think? I'll try to post a pic as soon as I can.

Thanks

[inair]

After cruising through alot of rebuild pics it defineitly looks like glassed in plywood reenforcment in the rudder area. I just cant tell from the pics what is under the plywood.

[sybrmike]

That pad and the transom wood are the only original wood left in mine. From pics I've seen, its just the same "bondo" adhesive the factory poorly & randomly slathered on to bed the stringers. The hull is slightly concave back at the rudder & it's just filler between the hull and the pad. I'd grind out the old until you get to raw fiberglass & then bed a new plywood pad with a mixture of resin & cabosil, chopped fiber, etc. Fillet the edges, yada, yada, & glass it in. I'd think the only critical point would be to get the pad level & square with the bottom of the hull so the top flange seats square against the pad with the bottom flange flush on the hull.

[inair]

It looks like they just plopped a gob of what ever that bluish stuff is over the area and then smooshed a piece of plywood on top. There were plenty of empty spaces under it too. The edges of the plywood were cut off at 90 degrees so the fabric couldn't work. What a mess!

What is that filler material? It seems strong and I need to replace it with something.