[C320-list] Rudder Issues

[Robert Dean]

 I helped a friend that has a Cal 31 do the epoxy injection method. The boat has to be out of the water and set high enough to get the rudder out and back in.   We did it about six years ago and the rudder is still working great. He bought a kit from Catalina Direct. It takes alot of prep work on the inside of the the fiberglass tube. It takes cleaning with solvent and sanding and cleaning with solvent again. On his boat it made the steering feel like a new boat. 
Bob DeanJust Chillin 550
    On Thursday, August 8, 2019, 01:25:55 PM EDT, Joe Geiger <joe.geiger at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 I found 3 solutions for repairing my rudder thud. Seems like this is a common problem that most sailboats have that use a rudder post to attach the rudder to the boat as opposed to a pintle and gudgeon attachment off the transom.  

The first are 2 rubber bushings that you slide over the rudder post down into the fiberglass rudder tube that keeps the rudder post centered. This looks like it requires the boat to be hauled and the rudder to be removed so the bushings can be slid down from the top of the post. 

The second is an epoxy kit that has you drill 3 holes in the fiberglass rudder tube and then use a syringe to push epoxy into the rudder tube. Looks like this can be done with the boat still in the water. 

The third is a suggestion I read from another forum where you cut pieces of plastic milk jug and slide them down the tube to keep the rudder from moving in the tube. This can also be done with the boat in the water

Has anyone else done any of these? 

Joe
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Joe Geiger
Vega #722
Greenwich Cove, RI