Replacement Teak Blocking for Old Rudder?

W

Westports94

New Member
I keep putting longer and longer screws in the bronze rudder / tiller deck plate of my c. 1968 Sunfish. There's been plenty of water in the hull and I assume the teak wood block that the screws go into has been slowly rotting away. I also assume that at one point I won't be able to get screws that are any longer.

I'm putting an inspection port about 4" from the stern and this will cut through a portion of that teak blocking (according to Wind Line's project pages). So far I'm stopping short of a complete rudder system replacement---I like the idea of keeping the original pre-1971 parts, flawed as the design may be---but I'm wondering if anyone's tried just installing new teak blocking for an old rudder deck plate.
 
Westsports,

Longer screws will not help past abou 1-1/4", the blocks are only 3/4 to 1' thick. First install 2 ports, a 6" behind the splash rail and a 5" in the rear and get air moving through the hull to get the insides dried out , otherwise the dampness inside will not support any repairs for long. Place your rear port so that the flange is about an inch in front of the current rudder deck hardware. Then you will probably miss any underdeck blocking (you may hit some foam, no big deal). The blocks are more likly to be mahogany (some have reported that they were oak) than teak. They are "glued" to the deck underside (originaly) with thickened resin and overlayed with a couple of layers of fiberglass to help support the block. In some cases, you can pull the block off by hand, some times you may need a heavy putty knife or other tool to get "under" the block to remove it. Cut a new block the same size as the old one and reinstall with thickened resin (a good epoxy like West Systems, MAS, RAKA or System 3 or fiberglass resin) and a couple of layers of cloth.

As an alternative (if the block still seems solid), check out the Sailing Texas article about bow eye repair, http://www.sailingtexas.com/chowtoresetboweye.html , the same principles apply. With the port, you can put tape over the inside end of the holes to keep the epoxy from dripping out. Re-drill after the epoxy has set up and reinstall the screws and hardware.

Most important though is to get the inside dried out, It will take time, lots of it. The benifits include less strain on your back, a more responsive SF and peace of mind knowing that your repairs will last.

See Sunfish Sailor, Yahoo or Wind Line Sails http://www.windline.net/index.html , How-To section, for more info on drying out your SF, installing ports and other repairs that may occur along the way. Good Luck
 
Thanks for the advice. I hadn't yet gotten to the possibility of setting screws into an expoxy filler in the existing block (I assume the Sailing Texas article is along those lines). Might be a good thing to try first as it's less labor intensive and less invasive: "If it isn't broke..."

I had planned on the two inspection port for drying over the winter or something and had checked out the articles you mentioned. (It was Wind LIne's rudder conversion article that referenced teak, but it doesn't surprise me that Alcort may have changed wood species periodically.)

Guess I'll see which way to go when I saw the deck for the inspection port.
 
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