Proposed rudder removal

[Chris]

Hello all,

I'm planning to remove the rudder from our Morgan Giles 30 in order to
effect some small fibreglass repairs.

Not having done this before, is it possible to remove the rudder while
the boat is standing on her keel in the yard, or will she need lifting
up to gain enough clearance to get the rudder stock out?

Also, other than removing the two bolts retaining holding the shoe at
the bottom, is there anything more to the actual removal process?

Any personal experiences/likely snags would be gratefully received!

Cheers
Chris

[Tony - Santana]

Chris... First winter after I had Santana I had the rudder removed.
I was told the only way was to lift the boat up high enough to drop
the rudder out, so the top tube came out through the tube in the hull.

In the event I needed a new rudder. On the recommendation of the
yard, I had a flange join put into the tube just above the rudder, so
it is now possible to disconnect this and remove the rudder without
lifting the boat or removing the heal. I think it is an excellent
modification and I recommend it if you have the rudder out. I can
send/post a photo if you are interested.

regards, Tony

[Chris Rosamond]

Thanks for the feedback Tony - can you remember how high the required
lift was? I'm wondering if it might be feasible to dig a hole, but not
if it's got to be more than a foot or so...

Otherwise I'll have to make do with an outdoor repair with rudder in situ.

Out of interest, what was wrong with your rudder?

Chris

--
Chris Rosamond
Strandkorb UK Ltd
Tel:01273 454848 (Mob): 07973 734488
www.strandkorb-uk.com

www.sarahstafford.co.uk

[Douglas BRODIE]

Hi Chris
I done a repair on Blades rudder , the grp had a split on it and i
reglassed the full rudder without having to take it off . It was a bit
ackward , but i laid it up in stages and epoxied the finished job and it was
fine . If you can get someone to help though it does make it easier .

[Chris Rosamond]

Thanks Douglas - I'll start looking at doing it that way now. I was hoping to do it in the nice warm garage!

2008/10/25 Douglas BRODIE <dou...@brodie2141.fslife.co.uk>

[kieron riley]

hi and good morning,i did se an mg once where the owner had removed a small ammount of the rubder just below the keel and then ct through th shaft then fitted the flange as was mentioned in the earlier post,he said it was a bit daunting until he started it then all was well as yet i have had no need to remove mineand do not realy relish the idea of dooing so,best of luck .Kieron( Nirvana)

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[Graham & Judith Kirkpatrick]

Hi folks from the NW on this horrible, wet & windy day.

 

I had to repair a split at the bottom of my rudder on 'TSAYOT' following grounding in shallow water in a swell whilst approaching the harbour mouth at lowish water. It was quite easy to open up the split slightly to let it dry out a bit and then lay up matting with resin, etc. The repair has been fine and I have seen several boats in the marina which have had similar repairs carried out.

 

I was told by a marine surveyor friend not to worry about any water in the rudder as most rudders seem to get water in somehow and never seem to give trouble. He said the Morgan Giles hulls are usually quite dry & free of Osmosis except for the rudders which often leaked where the shaft enters and exits the blade

 

I like the idea of a flange above the top of the rudder below the hull to allow the rudder blade to be removed without having to unbolt the shoe at the heel but the welding of the flange would have to be really good! I think I would do this if ever I had to replace the rudder.

 

Cheers for now.

 

Graham 

[Tony - Santana]

In view of the interest in rudders, I have added pictures to my
Santana page in this eGroup. You can see the rudder flange, rope
stripper on the prop. I have also included the self-steering gear.

Click on http://groups.google.co.uk/group/morgan-giles-30/web/santana?hl=en;
or copy & paste it into your browser's address bar if that does not
work.

Tony

[Paul-Grampus]

Hello All,

I am new to this group so hope I am doing this right!!

This last winter I built a new rudder from scratch. It comprises a ply
and solid wood structure faired to shape and then epoxy sheathed.I
have seen recently that some of the newer moldings to mine had hollow
GRP rudders.

When I removed mine I dug a hole about 15" deep and dropped the lot.
However the rebuild is similar to Santana, with a flange and four
bolts. This is a quite a satisfactory design and is infact how yachts
were built years ago when "yachts were built" and not factory floor
assembled.

Another modification has been made at the shaft head where the tiller
is fixed. This has been made with a taper turned on the top 2" and a
tapered collar dropped on with a shear pin through. The reason being
that we moor in mud in a tidal pill ( 1 mile above the Severn
Bridge). When she settled one day last Autumn she slid back and
although the tiller was lashed she still managed to cant the rudder
and twisted the top of the shaft.

If further detail is required and you think I can help please come
back to me.

Good luck.
Paul Chapman.