Epoxycraft
Menu
  • About
  • Epoxy Basics
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
  • Trade Secrets
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Aviation
    • Architecture
  • Meet The Maker
  • News
  • Contribute
  • Contact

How To: How to use epoxy to fix the rudder of a sailing yacht
31st October 2015

How to use epoxy to fix the rudder of a sailing yacht

West System International Technical guru David Johnson explains how to fix a rudder that’s taking in water.

If there’s a top ten list of questions from boat owners who want to carry out their own repairs, “how do I fix the rudder?” is almost certainly up there. Especially if the boat is 20 years old or more.

Before the Recreational Craft Directive first came into force in 1996, it’s fair to say that rudder construction wasn’t always that robust. It was the era of the (now extinct) high production boatbuilder, who was producing 400-500 boats a year.

Typically, the poor guy making the rudder would have been the lowest-paid apprentice and yet he was making arguably the most important part of the boat –  the one thing that will steer you to safety if you’re in trouble!

“Most GRP rudders are constructed by bonding two half mouldings together…The problems begin when there is a flaw in these mouldings.”

Most GRP rudders are constructed by bonding two half mouldings together. These house the bonded rudder stock or transom fittings and are typically filled with two-component polyurethane foam.

The problems begin when there is a flaw in these mouldings, which allows moisture to seep in; the foam basically absorbs it like a sponge. I have also seen machined rudder stock that has corroded because the rudder has wicked up water into the foam.

Aside from this affecting the boat’s sailing ability, it’s worth noting that this moisture content can be picked up by a surveyor, who in turn may advise an insurer not to issue cover on the boat. With most insurers requiring a survey every seven to nine years, it’s important to get this sorted out.

Two different ways to repair

To carry out a repair that’s anywhere near acceptable, you firstly need to dry the foam scrupulously. This may well be difficult unless you can drill drainage holes and store the rudder in a heated dry environment for a lengthy period.

However, if you can indeed get the foam dry enough, you might consider a repair detailed in our Fibreglass Boat Repair and Maintenance manual (free to download). Chapter five in particular has details on how to chain-drill the skin of a laminate and then inject mixed epoxy via a syringe.

To be honest, this is a bit of a “get out of jail cheaply” option. It’ll work but a more professional boatyard-style repair would involve splitting the two rudder halves, completely removing the old waterlogged foam and perhaps re-bonding the stock.

You would then need to reassemble the two halves with epoxy and pour fresh mixed epoxy/filler material in slowly into the void – either a very slow-setting resin/hardener/filler mix, or our PRO-SET® expanding epoxy foam.

“Most GRP rudders are constructed by bonding two half mouldings together…The problems begin when there is a flaw in these mouldings.”

Whichever option you go for, sheathing the repaired rudder adds robustness and is a fairly straightforward process. We would recommend WEST SYSTEM 105 Epoxy Resin® with WEST SYSTEM 205 Fast Hardener® and Episize™ 739 450g Biaxial Glass Fabric. For more detailed information on sheathing, have a look at our Wooden Boat Restoration & Repair manual (also free).

It’s also a good idea to document your repair with photographs or a repair plan. You can include this within the boat’s papers, so you’ve got something to show a surveyor or a future buyer.

But of course whatever work you carry out, remember to seek advice from a qualified marine surveyor or yacht repair technician first. Even if you’re really confident with this sort of work, the old adage still holds: do it nice, or do it twice!

For more how to articles please visit here. Discover other how to articles for epoxycraft.  

For more information about how to use our full range of WEST SYSTEM epoxy products, visit our support pages.


Share on


Back to top-tips-best-ways-to-use-epoxy

Subscribe to our newsletter
Our unique epoxy knowledge and experience, delivered straight to you

Events

RYA Dinghy Show 2023 25th-26th February 2023

What is epoxy?

Epoxy Projects

Boat Building 2022 Projects – Top Picks

  • 22nd December 2022
Read More

Our Favourite Nick Zammeti Creations of 2022

  • 21st December 2022
Read More

Decorative Christmas Tree Decorations

  • 16th December 2022
Read More
1234567
1234567
  • Home
  • Epoxy Basics
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Architecture
    • Aviation
  • Trade Secrets
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Boat Building
    • Woodworking
  • News
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contribute
  • Contact
West System
Pro-Set
Entropy Resins
Subscribe to our newsletter
Copyright © 2023 Epoxycraft | Website by MAA
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
bcookie2 yearsLinkedIn sets this cookie from LinkedIn share buttons and ad tags to recognize browser ID.
langsessionThis cookie is used to store the language preferences of a user to serve up content in that stored language the next time user visit the website.
lidc1 dayLinkedIn sets the lidc cookie to facilitate data center selection.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_91ZH5F88XM2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_gtag_UA_103456315_31 minuteThis cookie is set by Google and is used to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT16 years 3 months 20 days 13 hours 3 minutesThese cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos. They register anonymous statistical data on for example how many times the video is displayed and what settings are used for playback.No sensitive data is collected unless you log in to your google account, in that case your choices are linked with your account, for example if you click “like” on a video.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website.
bscookie2 yearsThis cookie is a browser ID cookie set by Linked share Buttons and ad tags.
fr3 monthsFacebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysGoogle DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
AnalyticsSyncHistory1 monthNo description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
li_gc2 yearsNo description
pvc_visits_11[0]1 dayNo description
UserMatchHistory1 monthLinkedin - Used to track visitors on multiple websites, in order to present relevant advertisement based on the visitor's preferences.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo