The rudders were full of water and the rudder bodies were loose on the rudder stock, so we had to find out why. Dick cut out the side of the rudder and found that all the stainless steel inside was good but the foam was not, especially after digging it out to look at the stainless. And it was only low-density spray foam, to be replaced with high-density pour foam. Then I took over the repairs.
I cut a plywood cover for the opening and a smaller cardboard inset.
My assistant glued the inset into position on the plywood.
I used a drill to screw the plywood onto the rudder
and drilled pour holes.
The two-part foam components which become active when mixed 1:1
Pour together, stir throughly and start pouring within 45 seconds.
Here, I'm holding the pour spout waiting for my assistant to do the pouring. The foam grows to 8 times the original volume and gets rather warm.
We did the starboard rudder first. What a mess as the liquid leaked and later the foam squished out at the top.
The port rudder was second and a thing of beauty.
We must wait for everything to cure and dry before pulling away the plywood.
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