[Public-List] Inspecting a wooden rudder

[Glenn]

Hi Greg,

Sounds like some one on the list just recently had a grudgeon fail, whether by grounding or corrosion I cant remember.  In either event cleaning the casting off with a wire wheel or /coarse sand paper will show you if there are any hairline cracks or serious deterioration of the surfaces.  Bronze lasts a long time in the water and if zinced lightly the fittings should be close to inert and forever good.  If the metal is going bad,  you will see obvious signs of corrosion and reduced, scalloped out surface area. More likely the bolts or screws holding the grudgeon or bottom shoe could be loose or corroded.  Whatever you do do not replace any fastenings with stainless!  Sure recipe for trouble in the future. 

The other big thing to look at is the condition of the wood in the rudder and the bolts that hold it together. Best way to determine wood condition is tap on it with a small ball peen hammer.  Bad wood sounds hollow or dull, sometimes is physically punky beneath the surface - particularly if worms have got into the wood. they bore along the grain underneath the surface.  With Good wood, the hammer will almost spring back off the wood surface.  And the wood will sound sharp, a bit like a whip crack when you tap it.  So strongly tapping all over the rudder will tell you if there are any soft spots.  

I guess no way really to know the condition of the fasteners that hold the pieces of wood together that form the rudder, without taking one of the bolts out, if they are iron and never replaced might be a difficult to impossible job to do. But you might be at high risk of the rudder  coming apart if the iron has rusted away in the center of the rudder.   If bronze, maybe pulling the nut off the end would tell you something - and certainly would be a much lower risk of having problems.  

It would be very interesting if you could report out to the list what you find...

Cheers
Glenn brooks
Dolce 318



Sent from my iPad

On Dec 24, 2013, at 10:41 AM, gregr at nethere.com wrote:

> Hi Folks,
> 
> Ayla is hull #43 so I'm guessing she has one of the original wooden rudders.
> It was just the other night as I went through all the maintenance items on
> the site that I learned early boats had wooden rudders so I've never
> checked. I'll find out in January when I haul out. As preparation for that
> I'd really appreciate any tips on how to inspect and determine the
> condition of a wooden rudder.
> 
> Also, I remember a series of posts by someone that built a new rudder. I'd
> love to hear from them about the experience and any pitfalls they ran into.
> 
> As always, THANKS for all the help!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Greg
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