F33 "Rudderpost" filled with water

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whimsy
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:00 am

F33 "Rudderpost" filled with water

Post by whimsy »

I've taken the tiller arm that has the quadrant for my steering system and attaches to my rudder off again, so it will be aligned better than the last time I put it on. I've found an interesting situation I'm trying to decide what I can do about.

I've seen the inside of a sister ship's rudder, so I have a pretty good idea how it is built. It has a fiberglass shell, filled with balsa core and filler, and it has a big stainless pipe that goes the vertical length of the rudder, with some stainless webbing going out inside the rudder from it. Instead of classic gudgeons and pintles, this pipe is exposed and a bearing is clamped around it in two places. The top of this pipe is open, and the emergency tiller drops into the top of it.

And this is my problem--the pipe fills with water. It is very obvious because one of the three bolts holding this tiller arm onto the rudder goes straight through the pipe, and when I loosened that bolt water started coming out. Now that it is apart, the top half has drained dry, but I don't think the bottom half dry yet, or likely to stay that way. I don't like standing water in stainless parts, too much chance for corrosion.

A plug for the top of the hole would help, and I'm going to look for something there.

What should I do about it? I could try to fill the pipe with something (polyurethane foam?) and drill it out around that one bolt hole. But the top needs to stay open a few inches down to allow for the emergency tiller.

I could leave it as it is--it doesn't seem to have caused serious problems in the last 30 years....but it just doesn't feel "right" either.

Barry
s/v Flutterby, Freedom 33 cat ketch, now junk rigged

rds
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:32 pm

Re: F33 "Rudderpost" filled with water

Post by rds »

I have the same sort of problem with my F44. I managed to pump about 2 gallons of water out of my rudder post tube during my winterasing effords last weekend. I read somewhere on Catalina yachts forum that they fill the tube with lead, or epoxy, or some other resin .. epoxy is expensive and it eventually takes water ( as well as the foam) so I do not like it much. I am thinking that maybe wax or tar from “home depot” could do the job.. maybe even concrete.. On the other hand that water had been standing in for the last 30 years or so .. so I can't also decide what to do about it yet.

whimsy
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:00 am

Re: F33 "Rudderpost" filled with water

Post by whimsy »

Glad to know I'm not the only one noticing this and fretting about it. But I do wish you had a "good" solution.

I'm reluctant to put anything that is a liquid or goo which won't kick in there, because I've got one bolt that goes right through the post mid-way down, so oil or tar doesn't sound good for my rudderpost.

I still welcome any other ideas, especially ones that have worked.
s/v Flutterby, Freedom 33 cat ketch, now junk rigged

rds
Posts: 50
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:32 pm

Re: F33 "Rudderpost" filled with water

Post by rds »

I am inclined to use wax .. what is wrong with it ? not that expensive , flexible , waterproof, easy to deal with ..

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