Rudder Repaired
Ok,
We called Snead Island Boat Works in the Manatee River about 10 miles from where we ran aground. They could haul us as soon as we could get there so we motored over and got hauled.
The rudder was only slightly bent and other than missing a bit of bottom paint that was the only damage I could find.
The yard boat mechanic thought that since it was bent so slightly and appeared to be bent only in the fore and aft plane (not sideways at all) that he could straighten it so I agreed to try that first.
He hitched a webbing strap around the keel and a strap around the rudder with a come-along in between and was easily able to pull the bottom of the rudder forward the inch or so needed to realign it. It seems to work fine now and appears to be dead straight in the vertical plane. The strap around the rudder was padded with a 2 foot piece of carpet under a 2 foot section of angle iron wrapped around the trailing edge.
So while I was fearing a $3000 plus yard bill, it ended up costing a little under $300 and 2 hours in the yard. Great!
Meanwhile I heard from Foss Foam here in Florida and they do not have molds for the Ericson 38 rudder. Apparently the E-38 rudders were made by a different company named Foss Foam in California. In any case, they thought that it would cost in the neighborhood of $3500 to fabricate a new rudder. I haven't called the California branch to see if they have molds and what their price would be.
Ok,
We called Snead Island Boat Works in the Manatee River about 10 miles from where we ran aground. They could haul us as soon as we could get there so we motored over and got hauled.
The rudder was only slightly bent and other than missing a bit of bottom paint that was the only damage I could find.
The yard boat mechanic thought that since it was bent so slightly and appeared to be bent only in the fore and aft plane (not sideways at all) that he could straighten it so I agreed to try that first.
He hitched a webbing strap around the keel and a strap around the rudder with a come-along in between and was easily able to pull the bottom of the rudder forward the inch or so needed to realign it. It seems to work fine now and appears to be dead straight in the vertical plane. The strap around the rudder was padded with a 2 foot piece of carpet under a 2 foot section of angle iron wrapped around the trailing edge.
So while I was fearing a $3000 plus yard bill, it ended up costing a little under $300 and 2 hours in the yard. Great!
Meanwhile I heard from Foss Foam here in Florida and they do not have molds for the Ericson 38 rudder. Apparently the E-38 rudders were made by a different company named Foss Foam in California. In any case, they thought that it would cost in the neighborhood of $3500 to fabricate a new rudder. I haven't called the California branch to see if they have molds and what their price would be.
That is good news! A quick fix and cheap. FWIW, I had Foss in California put a new rudder on my existing rudder stock and it cost $900+ shipping. All told I think it was $1200 total. Just in case you need a new rudder in future. Lastly, Foss will tell you three weeks turnaround but plan on six..... RT