Rudders full of water

[Dave Turnbull]

Hi

I'm hoping to join the class, and have found a boat I'm keen to buy.

The only slight concern is that the rudders had a lot of water in them which drained out of a small hole when they were inverted.

Is this normal?

Should the hole be there or be filled?

Thanks

Dave

[Bob Carter]

Hi Dave,
Yes they are hollow and need a breather hole to deal with the expansion and contraction. They often get some water in , but if they take lots of water there may be a small hole or crack elsewhere which helps them fill up. If there is it is seldom serious and can easily be filled.

Various people have differnt ways of stopping the normal leak - or draining it. Steve Sawford sails with a bit of blue tack over the hole. It does not stick hard enough to stop the rudder breathing if pressure builds up. I usually drill another small hole up by the rudder stock in a position that lets the rudder drain when it is the "up" position. This is probably not as good as Steve's solution as leakage while sailing increases the effective weight of the boat.
Cheers
Bob

[Dave Turnbull]

Thanks Bob

I thought that must be the case, but when you don't know...

Hopefully I will get the boat in time to come to Seasalter and follow the pack.

Regards

Dave