Ty rudder cracks

[ken price]

I am fairly new to the board and my 75 Ty is very new to me. I have seen a graet deal of print on Ty rudder problems. What exactly should I be looking for. My boat has been ,dry and clean for about three weeks and is showing a crack (in the paint?) running parallel to the rudder shaft .It is on both sides and is about 3/4" abaft of the leading edge of the rudder which appears to coincides with the rear edge of the shaft.The crack runs the full length of the rudder but I see no movement. I have not ground any old paint away to investigate yet.Any thoughts or advice?



patnken@erols.com

[Bristol Bronze]

I am fairly new to the board and my 75 Ty is very new to me. I have seen a graet deal of print on Ty rudder problems. What exactly should I be looking for. My boat has been ,dry and clean for about three weeks and is showing a crack (in the paint?) running parallel to the rudder shaft .It is on both sides and is about 3/4" abaft of the leading edge of the rudder which appears to coincides with the rear edge of the shaft.The crack runs the full length of the rudder but I see no movement. I have not ground any old paint away to investigate yet.Any thoughts or advice?

Dear Ken,

There is an ongoing problem with the rudders on Typhoons. I have had several Typhoon owners come to me to purchase the rudder repair kit that we have developed.

The rudder on the Typhoon is held rigid onto the rudder post by three Bronze drift pins that go through the rudder post and into the rudder. For whatever reason the Typhoon rudders tend to separate from the upper drift pin and the rudder post. Your cracking problem may be associated with this.

The first thing to do is to carefuly sand the paint off the rudder along the crack. Be careful to just sand away the paint and not the fiberglass itself. If the crack is just in the paint then it is only cosmetic and is nothing to worry about. If the glass itself has cracked then the whole rudder will need to be repaired. If you have the skills to do it yourself I recommend the use of epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth. The epoxy resin is much stronger than polyester resin and it is also more flexable.

If the rudder is starting to separate from the rudder post then I recommend that you contact me at 401-625-5224 and I will talk you through how to use the repair kit that we have developed.

Roger W.
Bristol Bronze



rogerw@bristolbronze.com

[Dan Moore]

Ken: Heed Roger's advice - he knows of what he speaks (and I speak from experience)
Dan Moore
TY 583 'MEG'