User Poll: FRP vs. conventional mahogany rudder

P

pkkriz

New Member
Group,

I am in the beginning stages of acquiring parts for a rudder conversion. It has come to my attention from several sailors as well as eBay auctions that the conventional mahogany rudder is quite prone to hairline cracks.

While the FRP is more expensive, it seems like one has to take into account the propensity for the wood rudder to fail and need to be replaced.

Curious,

Pete
 
The FRP rudder is by far the better choice. It is far more durable and has a better surface. You could buy the wood one and fiberglass it and gelcoat it but by the time you finish you'll have spent more money and time re-enforcing it to the standards of the FRP.
 
I have had several of the wood rudders split in the last few years. In at least one case, the rudder had only been used a few times, and showed no signs of any other wear or damage. The feedback I got from a dealer was that the quality of wood has diminished over the years (and Vanguard did replace it at no charge). With that in mind, when another rudder split last year, I ordered one of the new FRP blades. I have no doubt that it will not be subject to the kind of splitting that the wood blades have been, however if it is anything like the composite daggerboards our club uses, it may "chip" more than than the wooden version. Probably less of an issue with a rudder blade than a daggerboard, since these tend to take less abuse and are much less likely to be "run aground" than the daggerboard (we have about a dozen club boats and the kids don't always get the board up fast enough when coming back to the beach). I am anticipating that proper care will result in a blade that holds up better than the current wood versions being sold, but only time will tell for sure.
 
This has been gone over before. Use the seach function and type "cracked rudder". AL Court has the way to do it.
 
True, this is nothing really new, and Al Court does provide a repair solution. Personally, however, I would rather be sailing my fish than fixing it, so I have opted for the rudder I hope will hold up longer without need of repair. As I indicated previously, only time will tell how well these new blades hold up.
 
The FRP rudder is gelcoated and the dagger board is painted. That is why the dagger board chips the paint off. The FRP rudder is much better quality than the dagger board. Make sure that the dagger board is not exposed too long with paint worn off as the metal rods in the center will start to rust. A few guys in my fleet have had this problem already.
 
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