I have recently had the hull on my Typhoon stripped down to the gell coat. Except for a few small voids, the hull is in very good shape. (Thank you, Cape Dory!) There is one problem area, however. There is a crack and some flaking in the area at the bottom of the hull where the rudder is supported. This area seems to have been filled with some type of filler, but this is flaking away from the metal that supports the rudder post. I would appreciate any advice as to how to repair this problem. Specifically, what material should I use to fill the void, and should I pull off any flaking material or squeeze filler in behind it?
jneely@optonline.net
Typhoon Hull Repair
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Duncan Maio
Re: Typhoon Hull Repair
John:
There is likely nothing wrong with your hull. The rudder shoe is a bronze part that is attached with two bronze pins that run through the keel from port to starboard, and are "press fit" into the shoe. The transition between the fiberglass and the bronze shoe is then faired in with the marine equivalent of Bondo - it's just like bondo, but twice as expensive.
Over time, there is bound to be some wear on the shoe and thus some flexing - hence the cracks. As long as the crack isn't getting bigger over time, you could do what we do on our CD27 - fill it in every year with bottom paint, and go sailing. Since you are down to the gelcoat now, you might want to remove the fairing compound, drill out the pins, fill the holes through the keel with epoxy, drill new (slightly undersized) holes, press in new pins, peen over the ends and grind them flat, then fair in the shoe with fresh bondo.
Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37
Bristol, RI
mail@mysticmarine.net
There is likely nothing wrong with your hull. The rudder shoe is a bronze part that is attached with two bronze pins that run through the keel from port to starboard, and are "press fit" into the shoe. The transition between the fiberglass and the bronze shoe is then faired in with the marine equivalent of Bondo - it's just like bondo, but twice as expensive.
Over time, there is bound to be some wear on the shoe and thus some flexing - hence the cracks. As long as the crack isn't getting bigger over time, you could do what we do on our CD27 - fill it in every year with bottom paint, and go sailing. Since you are down to the gelcoat now, you might want to remove the fairing compound, drill out the pins, fill the holes through the keel with epoxy, drill new (slightly undersized) holes, press in new pins, peen over the ends and grind them flat, then fair in the shoe with fresh bondo.
Duncan Maio
s/v Remedy
CD27 #37
Bristol, RI
mail@mysticmarine.net
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matt cawthorne
Re: Typhoon Hull Repair
John,
I know that the 36 is sort of on the opposite end of the CD size scale, but when the boat was 10 years old it had a similar problem. In our case the symptoms where the same. The pins that hold the shoe in place were tight and had no need for refurbishment. We simply ground away all of the filler and made a nice feathered edge on the ground out area. I used West system epoxy and filler to fair the area back in and covered over with several layers of fiberglass/epoxy. It is still fine 9 years later.
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
I know that the 36 is sort of on the opposite end of the CD size scale, but when the boat was 10 years old it had a similar problem. In our case the symptoms where the same. The pins that hold the shoe in place were tight and had no need for refurbishment. We simply ground away all of the filler and made a nice feathered edge on the ground out area. I used West system epoxy and filler to fair the area back in and covered over with several layers of fiberglass/epoxy. It is still fine 9 years later.
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net