Attaching bolts to bottom of skeg to hold rudder bracket

[michaela]

Hi guys I got my boat lifted out yesterday and saw that one of the bolts securing the rudder bottom pivot bracket had been pulled out of the skeg. Looking at the bolts one looks to be an expander type bolts so I'm guessing whatever it was expanding against has corroded or broken down. The other threaded bolt?with nut attached is holding but the whole thing rotates so the nut can't be removed from the bolt allowing the bracket to be pulled from the the bottom of the skeg yet. The bolts are fitted vertically. I'm wondering how I will be able to fit some new bolts back into the skeg and secure them so that the bracket will be able to support the weight of the rudder. I have seen some posts saying epoxy the bolts in, or fibreglass them in or use sikaflex. Sika flex would be easiest, but I can't really see it holding the bolts if the rudder grounds.

What are peoples experience of doing this repair?

 

[neil_s]

I had a similar problem although, in my case, the bottom bracket was cross-bolted through some thin internal metal reinforcement that had given way, allowing the bottom bracket to sag. I fitted a substantial plate on each side of the skeg, reaching down the full depth of the bottom bracket and up over solid skeg. I fitted two new cross bolts through the plates and bottom bracket and four more new bolts to secure the plates to the skeg, This repair isn't in the best place to achieve smooth water flow over the rudder, but it has held firm for many years and passed survey several times. The plates were 240 x 50 x 5 mm, this on a 28 foot boat.

 

[michaela]

I had a similar problem although, in my case, the bottom bracket was cross-bolted through some thin internal metal reinforcement that had given way, allowing the bottom bracket to sag. I fitted a substantial plate on each side of the skeg, reaching down the full depth of the bottom bracket and up over solid skeg. I fitted two new cross bolts through the plates and bottom bracket and four more new bolts to secure the plates to the skeg, This repair isn't in the best place to achieve smooth water flow over the rudder, but it has held firm for many years and passed survey several times. The plates were 240 x 50 x 5 mm, this on a 28 foot boat.

Thanks for this, that is a solution that I never thought of this, my boat is a 28 ft Varne.

 

[Daydream believer]

West resins do a special structural filler that is extremly strong. If one increases the size of the hole to , say 3 times the diameter of the bolt & then beds the bolt in the resin, or beds a stud in it one can fix to that. I had to fix chain plates to the hull of a wooden boat & the wood was not brilliant. I made holes 1.5 inches diameter in the wood, Filled them & then drilled & bolted through them. The west resin soaked into the wood over a decent area & the bolt was held fim in the centre of the plug & the load was spread over a relatively large area.You can do similar to your skeg
I cannot recall the filler ref but you can check on the west website.

 

[michaela]

West resins do a special structural filler that is extremly strong. If one increases the size of the hole to , say 3 times the diameter of the bolt & then beds the bolt in the resin, or beds a stud in it one can fix to that. I had to fix chain plates to the hull of a wooden boat & the wood was not brilliant. I made holes 1.5 inches diameter in the wood, Filled them & then drilled & bolted through them. The west resin soaked into the wood over a decent area & the bolt was held fim in the centre of the plug & the load was spread over a relatively large area.You can do similar to your skeg
I cannot recall the filler ref but you can check on the west website.

Thank you, I like the idea of a resin type repair.

 

[William_H]

You could fill the holes with resin and filler then drill out again and tap a thread for the bolt or stud. What would really help though is to increase the number of bolts by increasing the size of the bracket. ol'will

 

[vyv_cox]

I suggest that Sikaflex is not the correct repair product. Filled epoxy is very strong and rigid.

 

[michaela]

You could fill the holes with resin and filler then drill out again and tap a thread for the bolt or stud. What would really help though is to increase the number of bolts by increasing the size of the bracket. ol'will

You could fill the holes with resin and filler then drill out again and tap a thread for the bolt or stud. What would really help though is to increase the number of bolts by increasing the size of the bracket. ol'will

Many thanks for your suggestion.

 

[michaela]

I suggest that Sikaflex is not the correct repair product. Filled epoxy is very strong and rigid.

Thank you. I suspected that tsikaflex would not be a good solution, I have got some epoxy, which I can use.