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Thread: New Rudder for Dura Mater?

  1. #11
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    Jan 2010
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    Thank you, Greg and Skip! Talk about prop wash/ prop walk! I went out Thursday just to be on the water for awhile. It wasn't a nice day at all. Usually I attach my Pelagic, but I wanted to just sail around with jib alone and didn't think I would need it. As I left Potrero Reach I was still in gear, the wind being light as it was, and as I got ready to unroll the jib we were headed dead onto the wind. I stood up, let go of the rudder and Dura Mater immediately went to starboard into a complete and tight circle. Over and over again. I couldn't help but laugh. If she were a dog we would be at that fire hydrant forever, and she was just doing what was natural.

  2. #12
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    Sep 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    (One problem with a solid cruising prop on a fast boat (like delivering a SC-70 home from Hawaii) is the solid prop can turn when left in gear under sail, and pump water into the engine cylinders, wrecking the engine. Happened to EVOLUTION a few years back. Apologies for off topic...
    Sled, to add to your point. Sometime back and may not be exact but I remember Robert Flowerman telling me a similar issue if you are over cranking you motor trying to bled the fuel, to also close the raw water thruhull until she starts for the same issue.

    Good luck Jackie

  3. #13
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    Sep 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    And what’s a compass fairing block?
    The block under your compass that makes it vertical, instead of the slight slant forward that the aft part your house has.
    Hal McCormack says they can't be compensated otherwise; I need two of them.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Intermission View Post
    The block under your compass that makes it vertical, instead of the slight slant forward that the aft part your house has.
    Hal McCormack says they can't be compensated otherwise; I need two of them.
    Oh, that. Dunno. It came with my boat. It's made of wood.

  5. #15
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    Sep 2008
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    SF Bay Area
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    Correction: Those compass leveling blocks used to be available from H&L Marine Woodwork in Compton, CA. I’m not sure the current status of that company.

    The link below is for a block from Ritchie for their Helmsman Bulkhead compass model nos. HV-76 or HV-77.

    https://www.fisheriessupply.com/ritc...block-for-hv76

    Tom
    Last edited by Dazzler; 02-02-2019 at 11:23 PM.

  6. #16
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    Jan 2013
    Location
    Berkeley Marina
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    How do we fire up that Ronnie Simpson bat signal? I'd love to hear more.

    http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/ind...9354-cal-2-27/
    I put a new-design rudder from Foss Foam in So Cal on the boat ($1100) and that was a serious upgrade in control in following seas, though the stock rudder isn't bad. But after 40 years in salt water, the stock post is probably questionable for offshore work. Mine was, hence the upgrade
    He did the same on his 2-29, so I suspect he liked it.

  7. #17
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    Jan 2010
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    Default Winner of the Keel Weight Survey

    The winner of the Dura Mater rudder survey is a new neighbor on E Dock, Nick Leal. He is the proprietor of Compass Canvas, with a workshop in Brickyard Cove and is the go-to canvas fella for Berkeley Marine Center. Nick is currently reconditioning his Erikson 32, re-installing his Universal 25 and a new transmission himself. Yes, pretty impressive. A photo of Nick with the Rudder Prize will follow soon.

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    Dura Mater’s rudder weighs 47.8 lbs. This according to my hotshot sailor friend who kindly brought all his professional tools to E Dock Sunday morning. He and the lovely Katherine were on their way to a local nursery, this being spring and all. She was very nice and even offered sympathetic murmurs as the visit disintegrated into a very sad conclusion: The rudder must be replaced.

    G (we’ll refer to this sailor as “G” so that, if I am lost at sea my estate cannot sue him for malpractice) brought all his high tech equipment to the occasion. Okay, maybe not his highest tech equipment, but he brought two calipers. One looked like it was made of aluminum and the other one was a plastic model. But what do I know about the quality of instruments? Especially since results were the same across caliper.

    First of all he tapped on the rudder with the metal caliper. He said that, ordinarily he would have used a quarter, except that he didn’t have one. I don’t even know what that means, but that’s what he said. And he had two rulers, one that measured centimeters, another one that measured inches, and he also used the word millimeters. Several four syllable words that mean different things.

    G was very thorough. Impressively professional. I would go to him for a new fabrication of any part on my boat and even to fabricate surgical orthopedic replacement components. Maybe I would stop at trusting him with the neurological bits. Unfortunately G doesn’t accept my health insurance, even though it is private and expensive. But still. Here is what happened.

    When he first arrived I told him how I had drilled a hole in the bottom of the rudder and that what came out were tiny and completely dry curly cues of white fiberglass. Then I propped the rudder up against DM and waited for water to drip out. It did not. No water dripped out, I assured him. That was good, said G patiently.

    He laid out his tools on the deck beside the rudder, kind of like a surgeon. Starting at the bottom of the rudder (the good, dry end, remember) he tapped his way slowly up to the stainless tube shaft at the other end: Tap Tap Tap Tap (very intense scrutiny here) Tap Tap THUNK.

    G looked at me but didn’t say a word, like a therapist who waits for you to say something revealing. Then he turned the rudder over and started at the bottom again. Very slowly: Tap Tap Tap Tap (still very intense scrutiny here) Tap Tap THUNK.

    “Do you hear the difference?” Just like a therapist, waiting for me to admit my rudder’s inadequacy. I equivocated.

    “Kind of. I kind of hear something. But what does it mean?” I wasn’t gonna make this easy. Rudders are expensive.

    G had no judgement in his eyes. He just rolled the rudder over again and started with his tap tap tapping. Tap Tap Tap Tap THUNK.

    “Alright! Yes! I hear it!” I broke down. “Stop!”

    The Thunky sound was nearest the shaft of the rudder, where water had intruded over the past forty years. DM’s rudder is probably that old, and it had done a fine job steering her all that time. But over time, where the rudder post and the shaft had experienced the most strain, the fiberglass was compromised. Skip had told me to look for a “cottage cheese” effect, which are the bubbly parts at the top that showed where fiberglass shaft might fail at the stainless post.

    G was sympathetic. He told me that a yard would most likely charge approximately $7000+ to build a new shaft and post and rudder for Dura Mater. A new rudder from Foss in Southern California, will cost significantly less than that. He offered a diagnosis with a qualification: I could probably still sail in the bay with this rudder.

    “You have BoatUS, right?”

    G said that he wouldn’t sail with it to Hawaii. Well, of course not. Who does something like that?

    I asked about the Race around the Farallones and he considered for a moment.

    “When is that, again? May? What is the lead time for Foss to fabricate this rudder? Six weeks?” I nodded.

    G was wearing sunglasses, so I couldn’t see his expression.

    “Well then,” he said. “I’d call them Monday morning.” And then he smiled to cushion the blow.
    Last edited by Philpott; 03-25-2019 at 03:39 PM.

  8. #18
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    Sep 2007
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    Jackie, call me. . Carl S designed my rudder for me. I can tell you about how the design made differences in boat handling.too hard to type on this phone

  9. #19
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    Congrats to Nick on guessing DM's rudder weight within .3 pounds!

    Knowing how often delays happen in the marine equipment field, especially spring and early summer, my recommendation would be to slap some fresh bottom paint on, reinstall DM's rudder exactly as it came out, and not give up weeks of sailing while waiting for your order from Foss.

    Despite the delamination/waterlogged portion of the top inside, it's unlikely the rudder or shaft will break in the near future. From the photos I see no evidence of "Swiss cheese" in the visible portion of the stainless rudder shaft.

    At some point, someone is going to have to answer what to do about replacing the old, cracked, black plastic washer that went around the rudder shaft between the top of the rudder and the bottom of the hull. Steve Seal would know.

    About the only place to stay clear of with DM's 40 year old rudder is the windward side of the Farallons. Otherwise, go for it.

    Ronnie is surfing and sailing onboard QUIVER, his Peterson 34, in Micronesia. http://sailquiver.com/
    Last edited by sleddog; 03-27-2019 at 09:08 AM.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by sleddog View Post
    Knowing how often delays happen in the marine equipment field, especially spring and early summer, my recommendation would be to slap some fresh bottom paint on, reinstall DM's rudder exactly as it came out, and not give up weeks of sailing while waiting for your order from Foss.

    About the only place to stay clear of with DM's 40 year old rudder is the windward side of the Farallons. Otherwise, go for it.
    Thanks, Skip. I'm ordering the rudder today. And, regarding steering clear of the windward side of the Farallons? That's excellent advice. Oh, wait a minute! I get it. Well, let's wait and see the forecast for May 11.

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