Bent Rudder

[Lou_tribal]

Seeing the color of what you call spider crack, I would get that inspected carefully.

[Todd R]

Hi David,

You need to have the rudder post inspected more thoroughly. The upper bolts on the top mount are as much concern to me as the lower. The upper Port aft bolt is backed off about a 1/4" (far right side of photo) and the upper starboard forward bolt seems to be non-existent (if there are supposed to be 4 of them). The locking nut is backed off about a 1/2" which would effect the rudder post seal (packing gland). The "Stress cracks" are more likely what I would call "Impact Cracks" and should definitely be repaired. Go slowly on this one or be prepared to spend more money down the road.

Todd

[boomerang]

Thats a lot of gelcoat piled up in there & that stuff is brittle. There might be some underlying damage hidden or maybe it'll just turn out to be superficial. If you're happy with everything else & prepared to move forward with the repair if it's needed, I say enjoy that new boat!

[diver dave]

If mine, I would drill a small hole in the backing block to see if its soft wood. IOW, is that drool, wood decomp or rust.

[Symphony]

cracks in FRP are not uniform - seems to be on the one side (explaining the rudder post bend)
Does this boat have a shoe for the rudder? I guess not.
Does it sit on the rudder at low tide?
Does not look like the force causing the cracks was from directly astern.

[danderer]

Solid bronze rudder, no shoe.

Originally Posted by daviddraper

I've included the surveyor's pic of the rudder shaft, showing spider cracks and bolts that appear to have leaked in the past - they did not leak in the sea trial.

Looks to me like that rudder got hit *hard*. I think those are more than just what I refer to as "spider cracks". The thru-bolts holding the rudder post housing should be parallel. Note the stbd-forward one is way out of line. That tells me the damage here is more than cosmetic.

I don't have a picture of my installation but it does NOT show this kind of damage (or any cracking in this area at all).

I'd bet you'd wind up very close to the "worst case":

Originally Posted by twistedtree

I would approach it with the assumption that it will need a full repair. That means haul out, drop out the rudder, straighten the shaft, repair possible other damage to the rudder (is it a glass shell, solid SS or Bronze?). I would also assume that the spider cracks will require removal of the flange, grinding back the glass to remove fractured/weak material, reglass and fare, repair to the flange itself, including possible replacement, rebedding, and reassembly of everything. That's the worst case of what this means.

Now I am not saying don't buy this boat, but I will point out there are a lot of 34Ts out there.

[BruceK]

The points on the visible nuts are shiny, looks like someone has been in there already, but left the proper repair to someone down the track.

[daviddraper]

At this time, there are no 34Ts out there that fit my criteria, two of which is price and inside steering. Most of the 34Ts disappeard off the market in the past 6 months.

[daviddraper]

I will have the ruder inspected carefully prior to purchase. Thanks everyone for your observations and input. I will tread carefully on this one.

[OldDan1943]

Here's a thought, take lots of pics but inside the lazarette and then, the external pics showing the damage, forward them to Kurt at AT and seek his opinion and suggestions.

I would be interested on his opinion of the inside damage. I would not call them 'spider cracks'. They look more important and possibly structural.

[tpbrady]

My first inclination when I read the title was the bending in the rudder was more of a permanent "trim" setting so the boat tracks straight under power (counteracts torque). It very similar to the trim setting on a outboard. If you look at the rudder on my Nordic in the attached picture you will notice the thicker portion of the rudder at the end. That thicker portion is all on the right side of the center line of the rudder in effect giving it a 3/4" or more bend to the right. That's not to say there isn't some type of damage to the rudder post, but the bend in the rudder may be normal.

Tom

[Ski in NC]

Looks like rudder shaft has an upper support bearing on the table above the gland. That would make it much less likely that the gland to hull joint got overstressed. Photos do not freak me out much, looks pretty typical. Cracked gel coat, stains from leaks, etc.

[Todd R]

Originally Posted by Ski in NC

Looks like rudder shaft has an upper support bearing on the table above the gland. That would make it much less likely that the gland to hull joint got overstressed. Photos do not freak me out much, looks pretty typical. Cracked gel coat, stains from leaks, etc.

Hi Ski,

Take a closer look at the upper bearing bolts (enlarged photo). One is pulled out a 1/4" (port aft) and another is missing (starboard forward). Maybe nothing, but would have a more thorough inspection if it was my money.

http://www.easyfunfinder.com/pics/rudder.jpg

Todd

[AKDoug]

I am just a lay person, but it is evident considerable force was absorbed by the assembly. The longitudinal cracks in the gel coat could be from overly which application, but the cracks around the bolts indicate impact damage (to me).

Good picture (of your concerns)...

[ghost]

Those are stress cracks. It means it flexed. We already know it had enough pressure to bend the rudder so not terribly surprising. Curvatures are usually thicker than thin. I don't know, would not get my heart rate up. As others mentioned, it already proves that the bent rudder will cause a perception issue. Negotiate a rudder repair. It would not prevent me from heading out into some waves. I might do a little tapping around to make sure everything is solid, but would not expect anything. Pay someone to re-spray some gel before you sell it so it does not get discussed again.

I do see all the stainless below the waterline. Never worked well for me. Always got crevice corrosion.