[C320-list] Rudder Issues

[Ted Harrison]

Joe, I watch someone do this work on a Cs. 

Make sure you have the height to drop the rudder or can dig a hole deep enough. 

Not sure of the distance from bottom of rudder to ground clearance you need. 

Ted Harrison

> On Aug 9, 2019, at 9:12 AM, Joe Geiger <joe.geiger at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thanks for the info Chris. 
> 
> We just noticed it on this trip so I don’t think it’s been going on for too long. 
> 
> I guess I’ll wait until we haul her for the season in few weeks to fix it proper. I try the milk jug trick in the mean time. 
> 
> Joe
> --
> Joe Geiger
> Vega #722
> Greenwich Cove, RI
> 
>> On Aug 8, 2019, at 3:50 PM, Chris Burti <clburti at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> The was a common issue with the old Cal's, most of which were over 30 years
>> old. When we owned our Cal 27-T/2, I was active on the Cal owner's list and
>> the consensus of that list was that  your first example was best and the
>> third was acceptable and to avoid the second.
>> 
>> The first method is the correct way to make the repair, the third was a
>> workable patch which I actually used. The problem for me was that the
>> plastic wore out or slipped down and you had to repeat the patch after a
>> fairly short time. No big deal, but annoying.
>> 
>> The problem with the second option is that if the rudder post wear has been
>> going on long enough, there is a very good chance that the rudder post has
>> worn into an oval not just a smaller round as it rotates back and forth,
>> not around and around. As a result, if you inject epoxy, it makes it very
>> difficult to turn the rudder because you have an oval post in what has now
>> become a close fitting oval tube. Second point is that you will actually
>> need to remove the rudder from the tube because you will have to wax the
>> rudder post or the epoxy will bond the rudder post to the tube.
>> 
>> Some of the Cal owners would drop their rudder while in the water because
>> if they weren't waterlogged, they were semi-buoyant. I do recall one
>> skipper's tale of neglecting to tie off the rudder while doing a solo drop
>> whereupon it sank  and drifted off down river in the current...
>> 
>> 
>> Chris Burti
>> Commitment #867
>> Farmville, NC
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Thu, Aug 8, 2019 at 1:25 PM 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
>>> --
>>> Joe Geiger
>>> Vega #722
>>> Greenwich Cove, RI