Weeping Rudder - Next steps.........

[hump180]

Guys, some thoughts on rudders, repair, and some of my experience repairing ours.

Our rudder was weeping, but did not show excess corrosion - I attribute this to our freshwater environment here in MI. If I were in salt water I probably would have been far more concerned and looked closer at the problem and solutions. For us we dried, filled, built it bigger and reinstalled.

Obviously the rudder is one of those things you would never want to fail - it would almost be guaranteed to happen at the wrong time. (which is pretty much anytime it is not at the dock) So careful consideration should be given to the options.

The rudder is cumbersome and heavy - It is a two person job to remove (which is almost a necessity when repairing and obviously when replacing). The boat has to be lifted high or a hole dug under the boat- rudder post is a few feet long. A floor jack is invaluable in removal for assisting in lowering the rudder and raising it back up.

The rudder/emergency tiller cap can be frozen on the post in the cockpit. In this case it may have to be cut (without cutting the rudder post) to be removed. We had to cut a slot on top and on one side and pry the halves, literally cracking the soft metal cap in half. Catalina direct supplied a replacement in this case.

[Ron Hill]

I just wrote a 4/5 paragraph reply that just "whizzed off" in to somewhere. I wrote it so that new MK I C34 owners would understand why they need to check their rudders and what the problem really is.
 
There are numerous posts and articles on this very topic and I hoped to condense them into a single reply.

The "weeping rudder" is an important item and should be treated as such.  Probably another item for the "Critical Items", but then all items are important so the critical list grows larger to the point - that it is not read. 

Frustrating - A thought

[Bob K]

Had a victory this weekend - was able to remove the rudder.   Impact wrench and an overnight PB blaster soak did the trick for removing the quadrant bolts - thanks for the advice guys. I dont think the bolts would have come out without the impact wrench.  BTW, at first I bought the Harbor Freight $20 cheapie wrench, and it did not budge the car lug nuts when I tried it at home, so I bought a Husky for $99 at Home Depot, and it worked like a champ.  So at least I got a new tool out of the deal!

So now the not so good news......inspection of the rudder at the rudderpost shows four cracks radiating outward from the post.  Pix attached.  I am unsure how deep the cracks go, though the front one looks like it is about an inch deep.  I am thinking they can be ground out and filled, though will have to reinforce with a collar of cloth.  This assumes the rest of the rudder looks OK when I open it up to inspect.   I think I will also call Catalina and ask them for advice.