Rudder Repair Worksheet

Depending on the situation, repairing and refinishing your rudder may be all that is required to get you and your boat back on the water. It may also end up being less expensive than a new assembly or rudder blade. The issue most sailors encounter is ensuring they’ve done the full repair instead of just fixing the superficial issues. Some repairs require specialized skills and materials.

This rudder had very serious cracking around the tiller pivot and what appeared to be some minor fiberglass cracks.

Once the bottom paint was taken off, we discovered sections of delamination and edge separation. In the process of fixing the delamination, it also became obvious that the shape of the rudder’s foil wasn’t optimal.  On top of all of these issues, a large amount of water had saturated the core of the rudder, which needed to be removed.

New fiberglass was laid around the edges to rejoin them, delamination was removed and replaced with new glass, and the foil of the rudder blade was corrected with great care to bring it in line with NACA specifications. Finally, a new coat of paint was sprayed and buffed, with the bottom of the rudder getting barrier coat in preparation for new bottom paint. The rudder is watertight again and weighs nine pounds less than when we received it.

This particular rudder started as a few minor repairs. Several very serious issues came up which would have eventually compromised the rudder even if the obvious issues had been fixed by the owner. The repaired rudder is more structurally sound and provides better steering performance than it probably ever did.

If you’re interested in getting a quote for your rudder repair, simply fill out the form below. One of our design team will review the information, and reach out to discuss your options. Being as directly descriptive as possible about the issues your rudder has, as well as supplying a picture, will help to expedite the process.