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  • Scott says:

    I have a 26′ Ranger and I’m not sure what the piece is even called but it is a triangular piece that fits into the deck and supports the rudder. Anyway last season was on a tow when boat went over a hard shallow and damaged this piece. Maybe more like destroyed it. Somewhat similar to the rudder that your currently rebuilding in that it is foam cored.except that my part is cracked on all sides.

    1. Foam core has dried out now and seems solid. Do I need to replace foam?

    2. This part has several sides that are cracked or separated from foam. I’m assuming that everything that is separated will have to be removed but if it is cracked can I leave current material and go over it? Although this piece also fits into a slot on boat so can’t increase dimensions more than they currently are or won’t fit back into place.

    3. And can I send you pictures so you have somewhat of an idea of what I’m talking about?

    Thanks,

    Scott

  • Dave Dickmeyer says:

    Good stuff! FYI, that “stick” as you called it, is really called a “spline”.
    Just sayin’.

  • Zac Higgins says:

    Hey Andy, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this series. Keep up the great work, can’t wait to see what comes next. The best part is how foreign the boating industry is to me, and it’s great because the though never crosses my mind not to watch. Thanks for keeping me on my toes.

    If I may say so, I can’t wait till you do a boat building series. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

    • ~Andy says:

      Hey Zac,

      Glad you like the vids πŸ™‚ Hoping to be able to do a group build next Winter. My oldest Daughter just turned 4 and she’ll need a boat of her own that following Summer! Whenever I get a new boating magazine in the mail she hops up on my lap, flips the pages and is able to tell me which ones are power boats and sail boats. I think it would be a very cool thing to build for her..

      BTW, great write up on TWW site! Thanks for the shout out πŸ˜‰

  • Steve K says:

    Excellent videos Andy.
    I am just about to fill and fair gelcoat blisters on a sailboat hull. Are you close to presenting your next video on the rudder rebuild that has you using Pettit EZ-Fair? I had not heard of that product before and was trying to decide between West System fairing compounds and Quikfair. Now that you have introduced me to EZ-Fair, I am anxiously awaiting your full opinion and video showing its use. I have to relaunch soon, as I live on Vancouver Island where we keep our boats in the ocean year round.

    Thanks for the excellent information in you videos.

    Steve K
    Victoria, British Columbia

    • ~Andy says:

      Hi Steve,

      I honestly am not sure when I’ll have time to edit the next video πŸ™ ASAP is about my best answer.. As far as the ez-fair, it’s awesome stuff! Very easy to work with. I haven’t used Quickfair but I know a lot of marinas do (so it’s likely a good product). West System with their 410 filler is a great option as well.

      The product from Pettit (ez-fair) is really designed for blister repair and prevention when coupled with their barrier coat..

      Truth be told, any one of these will work very well for you. The two things I’d look at are the temps that you’ll be applying in to make sure the product will cure; I think most of them have a cutoff around 55F. The other is cost.

      Let me know if you have any further Q’s πŸ™‚

      Thank you!

  • Tom Hemphill says:

    Andy:

    I am restoring a C & C 24 which I purchased from a church at a fundraiser aloong with a custom trailer. A lot of the deck core is rotten, thus the reason the church elder offered it to the fundraiser. At least they were honest about the issues this boat had. MOst everything else is in good to excellent condition..

    I have restored two sailboats in the past. However, I knew this one was going to be a bear. So, I recently finished up a fiberglass course at the local community college in preperation of removing the outer skin on the cabin top and foredeck. It looks like the toerail also has to come off.

    The course was ten weeks with 15 hours a week. I am retired and very patient and I have this boat in a nice warehouse, so I might actually get this big project done at a resonable pace.

    I just wanted you to know that your videos have been more helpful to me than the entire course I just managed to ace.

    All I can say is thanks and keep up the great work, it is appreciated.

    Very best,

    Tom Hemphill

  • Michael Givens says:

    Hi Andy, I must admit that you are a natural when it comes to your videos! Of all the vids I’ve seen yours are the best. We are about to wind down on my son in-law’s complete wood replacement on his center console boat. Thanks to your great instruction.
    By the way, have you used a throw away sprayer to spray on small amounts of gel coat? It looks like an aerosol powered airbrush?
    Mike

    • ~Andy says:

      I have.. The kind I am able to get around here is called a Prevailer. Mostly use it for spraying non-essential coats in a pinch (pva, gelcoat, etc) but NOT paint! Works OK, but make sure to use laminating gelcoat; not the kind that has wax mixed in. The sprayer gets cold as you’re using it and has a tendency to make wax congeal (aka clogging the sprayer). Spray the gel in 3-4 coats 30-40 minutes apart and finish with some PVA to cure. Then get ready to sand πŸ™‚

  • Nanci Whitley says:

    Hi Andy, watching your videos as my diver discovered a crack in my Catalina 30 rudder. The crack is from the rudder post down to the 90 degree angle of the rudder. My concern is whether the stainless rudder post is rusty or not. Should this be a concern?

  • Larry Wills says:

    Andy, what is the fairing product you are using on this rudder?

    Larry

  • […] Rebuilding A Foam Cored Rudder Part 3 : Boatworks Today. […]

  • bill says:

    Andy, watched this rudder series 5 times and I pick-up something new from them each time. Thanks for teaching.

  • Cody Blackman says:

    I’m about to start on some foaming in a boston whaler and from what I understand sanding the 2 part foam is impossible.. but I just watched you do it. Is it dependent on the density foam? I have a fair amount of shaping that I’ll need to do once it’s foamed up so I’d love to sand it vs creating some sort of perfect mold.

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