[Public-List] Rudder annomalies and repair

[Richard Hansen]

Requesting some advice and help on repairing the rudder on Sun Spur, hull
#3067235.  I can share some jpegs but thought I'd inquire with words first.


I've read many of the articles and email archive but not all.  Presuming my
rudder was originally or subsequently repaired differently than the 1 x
63"rudder stock drawing dated 22 July 69 offered on the site.  I am unable
to line up the drawing or envision 63" of rod running through my rudder.
Sun Spur's rudder has a 1" rod coming out the hull but ends just below an
imaginary prop shaft line, much like the jpegs of #152 on the website.
Rudder appears in good shape, except for the attachment to this 1" rod.
While solidly attached, the connection is not smooth at the leading edges
where glass meets rod.  I'm wondering if I should fill in with marine-tex
putty or overlap some fglass/resin staps around the rod and smooth towards
the trailing edge...to better "encapsulate" the rod.

The gudgeon/ appears to be one piece cast and in good shape.  The top
"pintle" , if that is what it was, is corroded to some unreconizable nugget
that I extracted from the bottom rudder gudgeon.  The "gudgeon" attached to
the rudder also appears one piece cast and has an identical sized aperture
to the hull gudgeon.  So, two questions here.  How to repair, pin or rod,
and how to manipulate the two solid cast gudgeons to accept the repair?

The rudder connection at the show can best be described as a pedestal (the
pin) between an upper and a lower mortar (the shoe and rudder base)! There
is the shoe, the rudder's 1" x 6" base cylinder, and a free floating pin
between the two.  The shoe's aperture is 15mm wide and 9/10” or 24mm deep.
The pin is a 7/16 x 1 5/8"  figure eight shaped pin, floating free inside
the well/hole of the shoe and the  6”x 30mm cylindrical (brass?) part at the
bottom of the rudder (aperture is ½” or 13mm wide and ¾” or 19mm deep).
There is a very shallow threading (4) on rudder end of this bronze pin.
There is some elliptical wearing of the apertures of both the shoe and the
cylinder.

So, to summarize the question on repairs.
Rudder:  How and with what should I better encapsulate (fairing) the upper
and lower rod assemblies and the fglass rudder?  Putty, epoxy, or fglass
fabric straps and resin? Or combination?
Gudgeon:  How and with what might I align the gudgeon and pintle-less
pintle?  With a pin or rod?  How long?  Secure with what?
Shoe and hull:  •Fill previous hull holes with putty/epoxy before retaping?
Retap keel and secure with bigger or same sized bronze screws?  What to do
about threadless rudder rod/cylinder at bottom?
Thank you.  RDH

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