Rudder Rebuild

The rudder on my Pearson P30 had a few issues I knew about when I purchased the boat. The bottom of the rudder tube had a layer of glass break away from the hull. The rudder bearings were shot, and their were a couple of blisters that had made it all the way to the interior of the rudder. Closer inspection revealed that no apparent major damage was done and the rest of the rudder was bone dry. New rudder bearings were installed by waxing them, and using thickened epoxy to fill the gaps surrounding them in the rudder tube. A PVC pipe was used to alight the bushing while the epoxy kicked off. 5200 was used to seal the top of the rudder to the rudder tube, and the rudder was given 5 coats of barrier coat and new bottom paint.

After a year in the water the repairs seemed to be holding up well and I have had no further issues.

#Fiberglassing #Composites #Rudder #PearsonP30 #P30