smoothing out worn blades

[Michelle]

Hi folks,

My daggerboard and rudder are full of gouges and scrapes from running aground and planing into the Evil Cement Pipe at low tide so I'm thinking of filling them, repainting the blades and then sanding them down. What do you recommend for filler, for paint, and what grade sandpaper do you use? Also, the bottom corners on the trailing edges of both my rudder & daggerboard are worn rounded, rather than sharp like new blades. Does this matter a lot speed-wise?

 

[TJM]

The cheap two part marine epoxy is fine. I used the "Plastic Padding" version recently, and the repairs have held up well. The trick is to use a sheet of plastic when molding the repairs and to tape it in place until the epoxy hardens to minimise the amount of sanding needed. Particularly with repairs to the leading and trailing edges, this makes life much easier.

As regards paint, I simply took a spray can of white primer and gave the repairs a few thin coats. The paint looks fine to me, and you'd be very hard pressed to tell it from the factory paint.