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1973 Nicholson 35 Rudder Repair |
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When we purchased the boat, we knew that the rudder was going to need a repair, and we factored this into our “five year restoration plan.” According to the survey report, although the rudder appeared sound there was possible delamination on the upper 1/4 of the starboard side, as well as down the center of the port side of the blade. When checked with a moisture meter, the rudder gave consistently high readings throughout the blade. In addition, the bottom of the rudder was stained with a green/blue residue, most likely precipitate from the bronze rudder stock inside the blade. When I started the hull to deck joint and deck repairs, this seemed like a good time to pull the rudder out, as Levity was obviously going to be on the hard for a year or so during the major restoration phase of the project. Two years earlier I had drilled a test hole and discovered wet foam core. This two-inch hole allowed me to reach in with hooks and scrapers. The initial plan was to remove all wet core & proceed with the repair. However, as I probed farther and farther inside the rudder, I kept pulling out wet core, with no end in sight. A total rebuild was in order, so I made a temporary repair in order to use the boat for the season (continued below). |
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Into the shop came the rudder – after the arduous removal task of breaking loose hardware that had been in place for 25 years. At first I cut a window in the side of the rudder but found no end in sight to the saturated foam, voids filled with water, and solid resin with water filed fissures. The window grew larger as can be seen in the photos. I exposed the bronze stock and the moisture damage was evident all along the post. Also visible inside was the old skin of what had at one time been the smaller, original rudder. (Nicholson 35s had 3 different sized and shaped rudders throughout the evolution of this design). My plan is to remove the post and restore to good condition, then remove all extraneous fiberglass & fillers and rebuild a slightly larger, lighter, semi-balanced unit. I intend to seal the post to the rudder body to insure that water stays outside where it belongs. In summary, the delamination of the rudder was much more widespread than the original survey indicated. The general deterioration of the bronze post and total degradation of the interior indicated that the moisture problem had developed over many years. The delamination of the fiberglass skin was probably exacerbated by the water freezing and expanding inside the rudder during winter layup. |
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