Painting a wooden rudder

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dave_gibsea

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Hi,

My 26ft Gibsea has a plywood transom hung ruudder. I have just taken it back to bare-wood and found it to be in sound condition. The question is: what paint should I use to repaint it with bearing in mind that most of it will be under-water for 6 months of the year? I was thinking of using an epoxy coating but I'm concerned that it will trap any future problems in.
Regards, Dave

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you might consider covering with fiberglass cloth and resin after allowing it to dry indoors, remounting hardware like you would on a cored fiberglass boat hull/deck. then using same paint as on bottom after barrier coat.

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As Bruce says, glass CLOTH and resin is the way to go. Make sure you use epoxy resin as polyester does not stick well to ply (makes you wonder how all these Mirror dinghies lasted.) Also note that epoxy resin does not work with glass mat, only cloth.

<hr width=100% size=1>Ken Johnson
 
Contrary to popular belief wood can survive being immersed in water for 6 months or even longer. Was there a problem that caused you to take it back to bare wood? I would avoid any epoxy sheathing and just do a normal wooden 'below the waterline' paint job. ie thin primed coat, 2 - 4 underwater primer/undercoat coats, 2 x antifoul.

Get a free Blakes or International Paint Manual.

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I would probably sheath it in glass and resin as the others suggest, if you dont feel up that you could get some SP Systems Eposeal and give it a good few coats of this, its like an epoxy sealant for wood, it works very well and you can paint or varnish over it. I used on the deck of my Merlin Rocket to stop the wood from getting any more unstable.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtinguniverse.com>http://www.yachtinguniverse.com</A>
 
it appears that the biggest problem with 'glass' sticking to plywood is when pressure treated plywood is used.

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I did my rudder in Blakes. Epoxy 2 pack primer followed by 2 pack polyurethane. A good, very durable finish.

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The wooden rudder on my wooden boat is painted, as is the rest of the vessel, with the Blakes system. Strip down to bare wood, sand and degrease; two coats of Blakes Woodseal; 4 coats of primer; one tie coat; two coats of antifoul. No further problems!

I write as a satisfied customer but do get the Blakes Paint Manual as paints do change!

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The wooden rudder on my 40 year old grp boat seems to survive. Its mahogany strips, glued and screwed. being completely submerged I primed it with ordinary pink primer, undercoat and then put antifouling over the top. If I were you I'd do the same but put a couple of coats of toplac on before painting with antifouling. You'll need to sand the gloss paint before antifouling, obviously, but if the wood's sound I don't see the problem. Wood can breathe through paint but once you've epoxied it you will seal everything in and the slightest crack will let water in to messs things up.

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6 coats ordinary underwater primer - the first 2 thinned by about 25%, followed by a conventional paint system seems to have worked fine on my wooden rudder - and the rest of the wooden hull.

Rudders are no different to any other part of a wooden boat, and will last submerged for a very long time, if properly treated.

I would be inclined to forget about putting any 'waterproof' system on it - if it gets damaged then it traps water inside against the wood. Just what you do not want.

And dont whatever you do glass sheath it using polyester resin. Polyester does not stick to wood, and within a season the wood will be wet and rotting - particularly plywood where the end grains are exposed. Its the quickest way to destroy timber and especially ply, short of putting a match to it.

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G'day Dave,

Consider the following, I have used it many times and had no problems.

First remove all fittings and inspect the holes for any sign of moisture, make sure the timber is nice a dry.

Drill out any holes used by fittings with a drill at least 10 mm larger than the thru bolt or 6 mm larger than any screw hole; tape one side over and fill them with a mix of epoxy resin and Micro-fibres, check for shrinkage after 10 minutes as some of the resin may be drawn into the timber. You can re-drill the holes to the required size the next day. This will ensure no water enters via fittings.

Clean up with water first to remove any residue left by the curing process, use fresh water and a plastic kitchen scourer (the little green pads with foam on one side) and when the water no longer beads your done. let it dry off a bit then sand to a flush finish.
Now apply your first coat of epoxy resin, mix the resin and hardener together then add 30 to 40% of metho to the mix, apply with a brush or roller, it will soak in, so keep adding till you have a gloss finish, then apply 3 more coats without the meths; you can do this all in one hit to save sanding between coats, just wait till the resin starts to set and is very tacky, but not wet.

If you do have to sand between coats, make sure you wash it prior to sanding or you will just spread the residue left by curing all the job.

Let it cure over night and after washing, sand it to remove the gloss only, we don't want to remove a layer of resin, just the shine.

Fibre glass resins, wax or poly are not UV stable, so you will have to protect then with a coating, an epoxy primer will do a good job, 2 coats of this a top coat of 2 pot Polyurethane will give many years of trouble free service.

Note: thinning the first coat of resin will allow it to soak into the timber, this will not only provide a better seal but will also increase the overall strength of the rudder.

I hope this helps.

Avagoodweekend..........



<hr width=100% size=1> Old Salt Oz /forums/images/icons/cool.gif Growing old is unavoidable. However, growing up is still optional.
 
I reckon that as Oz is the recognised World Guru on all things fibreglass, he would get the mickey taken something rotten if he stooped to any lesser material. It sounds bombproof, and I'd be the last to belittle his advice or experience, but I'm still wary of the long term effects of coating a flexible material (wood) with a rigid and brittle one in order to keep the water out. Even plywood. The first good hard whack will crack the epoxy coating and let water in, in my more limited experience.

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