Split Rudder repair

[Splinter]

Hello folks, newb here. Just acquired my first sailboat from my neighbor that had a sunfish sitting under his deck for what looks like years/decades. Being somewhat of a woodworker, the first thing I went for was the wood! Upon inspection and taking everything apart, I noticed a few splits in the rudder. Is there a general fix for this? My first thoughts were to make a bowtie inlay for it but being that this will be under water I’m not sure that this would be the best practice. Thanks!

 

[Wavedancer]

I have two left hands with respect to woodworking, but fortunately, there's a lot of info on this Forum about split rudders.
Try using the Search function (upper right)

 

[Eddie_E]

Scrape any bad wood out. Fill the crack with baking soda and scrape level with a credit card, then soak it with thin CA (superglue). Use a good brand of CA and make sure it's a fresh new bottle. I like Bob Smith brand or Zap.

 

[beldar boathead]

Have you actually tried this Superglue repair on a split Sunfish rudder and then sailed with it in a breeze? My experience is a dowel is needed, and the bow tie idea might work, but I’ve only used marine epoxy, not superglue.

 

[beldar boathead]

My first thoughts were to make a bowtie inlay for it but being that this will be under water I’m not sure that this would be the best practice. Thanks!

I agree with using the search function. Note that there are several really good marine epoxies that are great for this type of work. West makes a bunch (west epoxy is not related to West Marine, although West Marine sells West epoxy), Thixo is another brand that is good, and although not suited to this repair, Marine Tex is a great product.

 

[L&VW]

Search "bow tie" using the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner.

 

[Eddie_E]

The superglue and baking soda works really well in WOOD Fibers and will be stronger than the original wood was when it was new. Of course a bow tie with epoxy works too, as long as the person doing it is good with a router or hand chisel. After teaching high school carpentry classes for 17 years, I no longer assume everyone will get it right the first time.

Superglue is NOT a proper repair on any hull repair though. I stick with fiberglass resin over fiberglass cloth or at least chopped strands for hull structure. I finish with Total Boat gel coat tinted to match on any hull repair.

 

[L&VW]

Of my six (now four) Sunfish, each has a split rudder like yours. I'm waiting until there's a crisis, then taking a saw and a blade with a narrow kerf to follow the split all the way down. (Or maybe force the split open all the way down).

You get "fresh" wood to epoxy back together, remove evidence of a stain, and lose very little wood. A table saw would be best, but any saw would work.

I think member Signal Charlie would suggest inserting a layer of glass "mat". Or maybe not!

BTW, the search for "bow tie" discloses many different approaches to this split-rudder problem. (Or rudder-split problem).