Breaking stainless steel parts, (rudder & spreader)

[cdiehl7]

It seems that every year I'm taking my lower gudgeon from the rudder to get cracks welded... I also seem to keep cracking the spreader bracket...

Anyone else have this issue? I'd think that carbon fiber parts would be a great fix... I'd even be willing to weight them to keep from breaking any rules. Anyone have any other maybe more economical fixes?

(I kinda keep thinking about replacing the entire upper aluminum part to the rudder with something made of carbon fiber that would eliminate the gudgeon all together... then just add the necessary weight so it is the same as the aluminum.)

[LarryE-old]

I disassemble my rudder housing, inspect and clean every year.
I broke the bottom gudgeon in an ocean race in 2000. which bent the top pin allowing the whole rudder assembly to pop off. I was left holding the whole thing by the tiller extention.
Got a new gudgeon from S-2 and promply had my welder reinforce the weld from the inside. No problem since, Weak design.
No problem with the spreaders, yet.

[dave]

Guys, that's called too freaking much weather helm, too often for too long a time. You may not FEEL it because the 7.9 rudder is way too counterbalanced for it's own good [or that of the driver) but that is what causes the rudder head to crack and/or fail and the gudgeons and pintles to do the same.

Weather helm is caused by heel, PERIOD! Sail the boat flat and under control and you will never have another problem like that! Do I occasionally get caught in a 50+ degree lift combined with a 20+ knot puff and heel too much? Of course I do, but I immediately let the boat come up to unload the rudder instead of pulling the tiller up to my eyeballs while at the same time washing the windows off!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LarryE-old]

It's called the boat living in salt water 12 months of the year in Florida. Stainless x Alum. plate x warm salt water is breakage waiting to happen.

[dave]

Larry, aluminum is the looser in that battle!!! Carbon fiber also sets up corrosion issues. There's no free lunch.

http://www.bosunsupplies.com/Corrosion.cfm