Posted by Larry Kraus (kracherlandl@…>)
Hi Art,
Thanks for the reply. Question: Why is water in the rudder less
alarming than in the hull? Is the rudder supposed to be solid as
opposed to the cored hull? Water inside the cored hull would be a
disaster, right? What do you think of my yard’s plan to grind out the
wet spot and build it back up? From the sounds of the responses below,
one approach is to drill a hole in the bottom and let the water out.
But that, to me, doesn’t address the problem of water entry. Further,
it seems that with that approach, you’d drill a hole each fall and
epoxy it shut each spring. I’m not criticizing, just wondering.
Also, do you remove your rudder each year?
LK
Art Kuehne wrote:
Hi Larry,
It sounds like that same issue I had
with my F-35 rudder. I have received similar suggestions for removing
the water and they all involve drilling two or more holes in the top
and bottom. A shop vac can be applied to pull out the water.
Temperature change seems to drive the water out of mine. I have it
stored in a workshop with a small woodstove. When I heat up the shed,
the rudder drips. With stable temperature, I get little or no water.
The two small holes you described are likely just where the water
happens to be leaking out. Good luck.
Art
Original Message -----
From:
Larry Kraus
To:
freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com
Sent:
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 10:39 AM
Subject:
Re: [freedomyachts2003] Re: Water in F-35 rudder
Hi all,
I’ve read, with great interest, the F-35 rudder water issues below. I
have an F-32. It’s out in the cold right now in N Wisconsin. I’m having
the bottom redone with new barrier coat. (A few blisters etc) The yard
noticed that there was/is water bleeding out of 2 small holes on the
lead edge of rudder. Their plan is to grind it out, fill and barrier
coat. Is this the same issue you guys are talking about on the F-35?
Larry Kraus
Mark Edwards wrote:
The Freedom 35 rudder is made in a two piece mold. Each skin
is
glassed and the carbon fiber rudder stock is glassed to one side.
When that is set, the mold is closed and two-part expanding closed
cell foam is poured in from the top. The top is later sealed. This
is a strong and reliable system but does allow for the possibilty
the rudder stock to torque the top and allow a little water into the
blade where water might find a void or two in the foam. The only
concern is if there is a lot of water accumlating, winter freeze-
thaw cycles could cause damage but fixing the problem is easy as
indicated below by others.
Mark Edwards
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com,
“Dave_Benjamin”
<dave_benjamin@…> wrote:
I agree with your surveyor. I was quite surprised to find a very
dry
rudder on our 1973 Ranger 33 though. On TPI built Freedoms the
rudderstocks are usually composite and are chemically bonded to
the
rudders. The only thing I’ve ever heard of happening to a Freedom
rudder was a guy hitting a submerged object and losing a skin.
— In freedomyachts2003@yahoogroups.com,
Thomas Wales <twales@>
wrote:
My surveyor told me he’s never seen a rudder that didn’t have
water
inside. He suggested to drill a hole in the bottom after
hauling
in the
winter to let it dry out, and filling the hole with epoxy
before
launch in
the spring. The freedom rudders are as well made as the
boats,
so
he
wasn’t overly concerned.
TW F32 Anoush Koon
At 08:17 PM 2/18/2007 +0000, you wrote:
I have a 1996 Freedom 35. I pulled the rudder this year
to
relpace
a
warn lower rudder bearing. I’m refinishing the rudder
while
it’s
out
and after sanding, I’m getting water dripping from the
top of
the
rudder. I drilled a small hole in the top and a ounce or
two of
clear
water dripped out. The rudder seems to be structurally
sound and
uniformly laminated. It’s not heavy enough to be really
soaked.
Is
the core closed cell foam, or balsa? Anyone with previous
experience
have any ideas as to what I should do?
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