Colin has shone the bright light of reality on fibreglass boat rudders, but here's a quick summary:
Reality
- It is near impossible for the joint between a metal rudder shaft and a fibreglass shell to remain waterproof for 20 to 40 years, the typical age of the boats we are looking at refitting.
- Therefore, pretty much every rudder on every fiberglass boat we are dealing with in this series has, or has had, water in it.
- If the boat has been stored in a winter climate, it's likely water will have frozen inside the rudder and done further damage.
Worse Than We Thought
That was all bad enough, but then I had a chat with Al Walker at Foss Foam Products in Florida. Al and his team have probably looked inside more old production boat rudders than anyone on the planet. Here's what I learned:
