Reducing Rudder Weight
Date: October 2, 2000
From: Gene Rohloff gener@execpc.com
Had to drop the rudder on my '78 E32 and was dumfounded at the weight of the entire assembly. For a boat that tends to be a little heavy in the stern I wondered why so mcuh weight has to hang at the very end of the boat. I thinking if sinking multiple 1 1/2 inch holes down to what I expect to be a steel plate in the center to the rudder on each side of the rudder. Then I would fill the holes with West low density compound thereby reducing the wieght hopefully 30% or 40%. Anyone have an opinion?
Date: October 3, 2000
From: Paul Uhl endvr32@endeavourowners.com
Gene,
I would be extememly cautious about removing such a signifigant amount of weight out of the end of boat without at least thinking about it's ramifications. At the very least it will upset the balance of the boat and cause a 'bow down' situation--very bad in heavy weather.
I'm not a boat designer but I would think you would have to remove an equal amount of weight out of the bows of the boat to keep it in trim. The other consideration is that you're essentially removing weight from one of the lowest points of the boat. This may effect the boats stiffness and stability, something already minimized by the shaol keel.
I'd highly recommend speaking with a designer before doing anything.
Also, you should ask yourself what your goal is by doing this. Are you interested in making the boat faster by removing weight?
By the way, an owner next to us in our boat yard dropped the rudder on his Tartan 33 last spring and it took 2 people to lower it to the ground.
Date: October 3, 2000
From: Roy Canon RoyCanon@prodigy.net
Hi Gene,
I am not familiar with the E32 rudder, but I just helped a friend replace the rudder on his O'Day 35. The rudder weighed well over 200 pounds! Fortunately, we did this while the boat was in the water, because the very heavy rudder had neutral buoyancy. Therefore, you might consider checking the "weight" of your rudder in the water prior to making it any lighter... Good luck
Date: October 3, 2000
From: Buzz Segura LAMTBUZZ@aol.com
Gene
Not familiar with E-32 rudder sys. E-43 appears to have a metal frame with the bulk of rudder made of FOAM. The lower end of mine broke off, grafted another piece of foam onto end and applying two coats of woving rovin over entire rudder. Have found no voids of any sort. I HAVE heard one person mention that the foam that his rudder was made of had absorbed water over the years and was quite heavy. He took it off, allowed it to dry over the winter, and resealed it. Seemed to do the job.
Date: October 3, 2000
From: Peter Gradeff gradina@innet.com
Hi Gene,
Last week I had to drop the rudder on my E37. It is heavy indeed.As heavy as the one on E32 ? I do not know but it FLOATS. Captn. Mike Miller indicated that earlier in the Forum; we could not resist and tested it. He is right. Good luck,
Date: October 4, 2000
From: Jesse Branick JEBranick@aol.com
I agree with Paul. Why mess with "Mother Nature" ? Besides the many potential problems it may cause, I can't think of any pluses to drilling all of those holes except wearing out several drills and bits. If you are concerned with the weight while racing take some heavy gear off or empty the water tank, etc. or have one less crewman.
Date: October 4, 2000
From: Carl Hibbard Chgypsy@aol.com
Hello Gene,
I have had to repair my 37's rudder, which required removal . The weight factor you mention for the whole assembly comes in at perhaps 80 awkward lbs.. In this case I believe the bulk weight is from the very solid (hard, hard) foam that they used. The outer fiberglass shell over the large areas is about 3/16 th in..
Obviously they have a solid stainless rudder post, the weldments I don't know how big, thick, or what material, but with this type of foam I think you will find that any water intrusion into the rudder never gets to the welding points (weak link). On this point alone I wouldn't be doing any decoring of the rudder. There are at least two brands of boats (our boats ages) that are famed for breaking the rudder post away from the rest of the materials, ergo with the very hard foam I don't think it can.
Hope this information will help you make an educated decision.
Date: October 3, 2000
From: Luther Carrier captaincarrier@yahoo.com
Skipper,
In regards to your rudders weight, my experience is that that are usually filled with a foam material and
do not weight all that much. Other that the rudder post made of stainless, the rest is made of mostly floatable material. Are you trying to transfer weight or reduce weight?
Date: October 7, 2000
From: Kevin Coon kkcoon@worldnet.att.net
Hi Gene,
Our rudder is foam cored, the idea of putting holes and filling it with epoxy will make it heavier. If it was that heavy, check for water intrusion. When I removed mine, I remember being able to handle it alone. I did something similar to what you are speaking of , but with milled fibers. The purpose was to bond the two skins of the rudder , hopefully making it more resistant to abuse. I had a couple of friends who had their rudders fall off (different kinds of boats) and decided to check mine out and modify it while it was out.
If you would like more details on it, just email me. Have fun!
Date: October 10, 2000
From: Frank D. Boensch FDBASSOCIATES@compuserve.com
Before I went to the trouble of drilling holes in the rudder, and replacing it with low density foam, I would do some rudimentary weight calculations. The steel in the rudder weighs 0.300 pounds per cubic inch. The fiberglass weighs about 0.072 pounds per cubic inch. If you know the approximate volume of the steel portion of the rudder and the total weight, then the remainder is the weight of the fiber glass. I would guess and it is a guess, the amount of weight that you can save by drilling and filing with foam is nearly in the round off.
Date: February 2, 2001
From: Don Reeder dreeder@nettally.com
I expect the weight is due to strength because of its size and the loads put on it. In 1978, they didn't have the technology to make things lighter and stronger. Maybe you could have a new rudder made lighter with modern composites. Also, the water tanks under the forward berth need to be counter balanced, so you may want to consider that too before you go lighter in the stern. Sorry, I don't have or know of any spares.
