A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a hair line crack in the leading edge of the rudder on my 29-2 (1985 built in the US plant)
This weekend, I sanded back from the leading edge about 6 inches in preparation for 2 layers of fiberglass cloth to be epoxied over the leading edge. When I sanded back along the sides of the rudder, I found 8 to 10 holes 3/8 inch diameter drilled through the port side and a couple of holes on the starboard side. The holes are randomly located different distances from the front edge and over the full height of the rudder. I drilled these old holes out and I am puzzled at what seems to be inside the rudder. The coring appears to be a mixture of deteriorated balsa (I don't think balsa coring was ever put into a rudder by C&C), deteriorated / wet foam and dry foam in good condition. There also seem to be voids behind some of the holes about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. I believe that the rudder must have been repaired by the PO. I would rather not do a total rebuild on the rudder this spring. My thoughts are to go ahead with 2 layers of glass cloth (first layer 5 inches / second layer 10 inches wide) epoxied over the leading edge. I was wondering about filling the rudder with a low viscosity epoxy. I would fill the bottom 12 inches first through holes in the sides and then work my way to the top of the rudder in 12 inch sections as the lower sections cured. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Has anyone done a similar repair? If so how long has it lasted? Does anyone know how many tangs are located in the rudder and there approximately location? Fair Winds, Bob Hickson, P. Eng. Frenchman's Bay Yacht Club, C and C 29 mark 2, Flying Colours, 416-919-2297 bobhick...@rogers.com <mailto:bobhick...@rogers.com>
_______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
