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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Rudder Repair

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DavidCrosby
Navigator

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USA
229 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/12/2015 : 10:36:36

I have owned my 2002 C250 WK for nearly six years. The rudder has always had a bit of an oscillation to it. You could clearly see side to side movement at the head and in between the pintles. When I bought the boat, there was a crack on the leading edge between the pintles. I ground that area down to bare fiberglass and applied a few layers of new glass. The oscillation never really went away, but I was tolerant of it and pretty well always thought that I needed to address that further.

This past summer, I took my boat up to Grand Traverse Bay, MI for a week. As part of the trip we motored (no wind) 41 miles to South Manitou Island. The following day we sailed the 41 miles back downwind in blustery conditions. This sail really worked the rudder hard. Along with another day of blustery conditions on Grand Traverse Bay, we worked the rudder even more. The oscillation was becoming more serious. I regularly sail on Lake Carlyle in Southern Illinois. We really never have much in the way of waves to deal with, so I figured I could postpone the repair until the end of the season.

In early October, I went out for a sail on a blustery day. The waves were maybe 2 feet. Whatever the case, the rudder was now oscillating really bad. So, bad that I dropped all sail and motored back to the harbor. It was time to fix it.

In previous project postings, I mentioned that my brother has taken on some of my projects for me. He stepped up to the plate for this one as well.

I took the rudder home and he immediately went to work. The first photo that ended up in my inbox is below.

As you can see, with the lower pintle removed - the rudder has obviously hit something in the past and broke out the front structure and bent the bolt. There are also a lot of stress cracks in that area.

The next photo to arrive was after grinding away the leading edge. Notice that the core is showing signs of being fractured. My brother says that the core between the pintles was completely fractured deep into the rudder.

The selected method of repair was to create an aluminum spine with tabs for the pintles to bolt through. Below is a photo of the initial line drawing with dimensions of the spine.

The tubing is one inch heavy walled aircraft grade aluminum. Sorry, I do not know the specs. He milled a slot into the tube to insert the tabs and then had the tabs welded into place. Below is a photo of the full spine.

And here is a close up of one of the tabs.

The tube was inserted into the leading edge of the rudder and buried deep within the length of the blade. The core was filled with epoxy that contained loose, random fiberglass strands as the filler material. Everything was then fiberglassed shut and faired then painted. The forward pintle bolt passes through the tubing and the tab. The aft bolt passes through the tab.

He had the rudder reassembled prior to the following weekend. We decided that I should put it on the boat and go sailing. The picture below is of the rudder on that weekend.

The rudder is now perfectly faired and bright white. The results were fantastic. There is absolutely no side to side movement. I am extremely pleased and no longer concerned about the strength of my rudder. This repair cost approximately $400. It would have cost more if it were not for my brother giving me a great break on his labor rate. In the end, I have a significantly stronger rudder and at a substantially lower price than buying a replacement.

David Crosby "Small World"
'02 C250 WK #614

TEM58
Navigator

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USA
113 Posts

Response Posted - 12/12/2015 : 11:03:15

That looks great! Any evidence of damage to the gudgeons?

Tim M
�Perfect Match II�
2003 C350 #35
Cruising FL
PO "Wine Down"
2000 C250 WK #453
PO "Perfect Match"
1983 C25 SR/SK #3932
Lake Belton
Belton, TX

DavidCrosby
Navigator

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USA
229 Posts

Response Posted - 12/12/2015 : 11:18:39

The gudgeons and hull look good. I have worked on this area of the boat this past spring. I added another set of gudgeons, between the rudder and outboard bracket, so that I could keep the rudder on the boat and mount my mast support as well. I put in new backing plates that spread the load between the rudder and mast support. I did not see any signs of problems when making that modification.

David Crosby "Small World"
'02 C250 WK #614

TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2269 Posts

Response Posted - 12/12/2015 : 11:38:35

What generation is your rudder? Did you consider an upgrade to Gen3? It is possible that the problem was exacerbated by extreme torques of the Gen2 rudder?

Rick S., Swarthmore, PA
PO of Take Five, 1998 Catalina 250WK #348 (relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor)
New owner of 2001 Catalina 34MkII #1535 Breakin' Away (at Rock Hall Landing Marina)

DavidCrosby
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
229 Posts

Response Posted - 12/12/2015 : 11:45:37

Its a 3rd Gen rudder

David Crosby "Small World"
'02 C250 WK #614

Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 12/13/2015 : 11:49:30

My 3rg generation has a crack in the gelcoat down the above water portion just aft of the pintles. Guess I'll need to address that sooner than later.

Safe voyages,
Ben
sloop Chick-a-pea,
C250wk#364

Tradewind
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
531 Posts

Response Posted - 12/13/2015 : 15:09:03

I had a similar problem, loose rudder and a crack between the upper pintle forward mounting bolt and lower pintle forward mounting bolt. I replaced the gudgeons and rubber bushings and that helped the very loose rudder problem but still left a little play. I had the crack repaired, all about 5 years ago, I posted pics on this forum. I've noticed this season that the crack has returned, not sure if it's just in the gelcoat or deeper. I may have to address the problem again.

1998 250WK #331
CILCIA
Steve
Pensacola, FL

DavidCrosby
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
229 Posts

Response Posted - 12/14/2015 : 12:00:23

I was talking to my brother this weekend, and I forgot one detail about the rudder repair. In the area where the core was removed and filled with epoxy and fiberglass strands as a filler, he also inserted numerous dowel rods in a foreward to aft and downward slanted direction as additional strengtheners.

David Crosby "Small World"
'02 C250 WK #614

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 12/18/2015 : 16:59:42

Nice repair!

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Ben - FL
Admiral

Members Avatar

880 Posts

Response Posted - 12/23/2015 : 08:35:37

I was out to Chick-a-pea yesterday and captured a picture of my rudder. I'm thinking I'll have to do something before I start my long voyage that I am planning up the coast to Maine and back.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/v/t1.0-9/12373167_491195837728775_2520302399818637977_n.jpg?oh=6e0f59bcf804045d0d1534168a3b7e76&oe=56D7D96D

Safe voyages,
Ben
sloop Chick-a-pea,
C250wk#364

vdotmatrix
Navigator

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USA
139 Posts

Response Posted - 11/10/2017 : 13:18:03

Does anyone have the Catalina specs as to the rudder harware placement?

Dave Brown
Navigator

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USA
174 Posts

Response Posted - 11/13/2017 : 11:39:44

Q; if there are so many of us that have this same problem,
should there not be a recall on this rudder ???
there are 3 of us that have the same crack at my lake.

________________/)_______________/)___________/))))_______________

Tradewind
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
531 Posts

Response Posted - 04/28/2018 : 17:19:28

The crack between the upper and lower forward pintle bolts has grown larger and now I have a horizontal crack on the leading edge at the lower pintle. I'm considering a new rudder from CD, has anyone purchased the HDPE rudder from Catalina Direct?

1998 250WK #331
CILCIA
Steve
Pensacola, FL

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.