Teak rudder

[nathanlee]

Before I put my corribee in the water I've been giving it a thorough refit. One of the jobs was to strip down the steering gear and give it a proper clean/varnish/paint.

Upon removing the rudder, which is a single sheet of 15mm ply (or whatever the equiv was back in 1975, 1/8th?) I noticed that a small patch was rotten and it had warped slightly. The rudder is essentially still solid so I was going to cut the small (half inch square) patch of soft wood out, fill it, then laminate the whole thing with grp.

However, somebody has offered to make a new rudder for me out of teak.

My questions is, how should I treat it? Should I still laminate? I'm not sure how the woods oil and varnish/antifoul etc will work together.

Cheers,

Nathan

 

[Tranona]

Waste of good teak IMHO!

Strip your rudder back to bare ply. Repair the soft spot by epoxying in a graving piece. Make sure the whole thing is really dry and clean, then sheath in glass cloth and epoxy. see www.wessex-resins.com for info on epoxy and sheathing (many other suppliers of epoxy if you prefer, but this info is good). Prime and antifoul in the normal way.

Do it properly and the rudder will outlast you and the scarce teak can be used for something more suitable.

 

[Twister_Ken]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'd stick with your original plan, which will give you a rudder that you know fits and works. Not even sure I'd glass it, just whack on some epoxy paint if you're sure the wood is well dry.

 

[Blueboatman]

The offer is very kind but actually gives you more work and more variables to worry about (which of course = time not spent on other jobs...)
Solid timber rudders require through bolts to provide the same strength that is inherent in plywood.
As Ken says,just fill,epoxy,scrub lightly with scouring pads to provide a key,and antifoul and Robert's your fathers brother.
By the way there have been instances of skegless Corribees dropping their rudders whenthe tiller yoke comes lose...either drill a split pin at the very top if you can (I cant remember the exact configuration)or ffit a jubiller clip,or make the clamp bolts very secure,or drill a self tapping screw through the yolk and into the shaft,would be my recommendion if you arte looking for another job to do...
The later Corribees with skegs of course have a lower bearing so the rudder cannot drop off..

 

[nathanlee]

Thanks guys. Looks like I'll stick with the original rudder then. My main problem with it is that it's warped so I don't know how it'll handle in the water. It's not too bad though, so we shall see.

I already have a bolt through the yolk. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Oh, while I'm hear, what's the best way to get antifoul and paint off?

 

[Tranona]

Nitromors and layer newspaper on top. May need more than one application. Or there are specialist AF strippers from some manufacturers

 

[1955patric]

Oh, while I'm hear, what's the best way to get antifoul and paint off?

Get someone else to do it /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[William_H]

The warping of the wood I think would be the main reason not to use a single piece of solid teak. With the grain running vertical it will warp to port or starboard and with the grain running fore and aft it will warp bottom to the left or right unless well supported at the bottom.

Your best bet is to build the old rudder up with fibreglass and filler.
If you want just a thin layer of glass over the original rudder then you must use epoxy but if y0ou put many layers of thick glass then you can use polyester resin. (much cheaper and setting times can accelerated with more hardener. With poly ester you need to end uyp with a fibreglass rudder with an internal male mold of ply as opposed to a ply rudder with f/g skin.

If the rudder is thin a flat sheet and warped. Then You shoukld take the opportunity to build a decent shaped rudder. ie with a good aerofoil shape. The leading edge should be fat almost semi circular in profile tapering to a fine trailing edge with max thickness 1/4 or 1/3 from the front. The proper shape will give you better lift with less drag when battling weather helm and more turning power. Of course the thicker rudder will give much more strength with very little extra straight line drag. (and of course a chance to correct the warp by building up to balance warp)
You might like to take the opportunity also to extend the leading edge forward to give more balance hence lighter helm load on the rudder.
good lcuk olewill