Don wrote:
The rudder on my m-711 has a chunk missing on the trailing edge. I'm thinking I'll make a straight cut, glue on a new piece and fair it to match the rudder shape. Questions: Will a flat cut be ok or should I route a groove to provide more gluing surface. And, what kind of glue should be used?
thanks, Don M15-248 M711 too _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
Remember, there is no privacy on the Internet!
Hi Don, I had a crack in the lower third of the rudder of my M15 plus some dings and wear spots on the trailing edge. I cut out the section, and replaced it with a piece of mahogany, glued in using WEST Epoxy. Then I faired the piece to the original air foil shape of the rudder. At the lake where I kept the M15, I had a low water problem late in the summer, and since I couldn't raise the rudder and keep it out of the water, (because of boat traffic passing by), and the lowered rudder would grind into the mud at the lake bottom, I chose to "armor plate" the rudder to give it added protection. To do that, I first stripped the rudder of all the old varnish; then covered it with a layer of fiberglass cloth, double layered at the leading and trailing edges as well as the bottom of the rudder. After two seasons, the repair was as good as new. You could see some very slight abrasion from the mud as the boat moved at the dock in response to motorboat wake waves, but otherwise it worked very well. To answer your question, I think that the straight glue surface should hold up very well. If you have any qualms about that, add a 1" or 2" strip of fiberglass tape over the glue joint as added structural stiffening. Connie ex M15 #400 LEPPO