1980 H18 rudder gudgeon failure

I am 2nd owner of H18. Bought boat in '97. Launched her last year, after 3 years of inactivity for a shake-out sail. Boat has always been sailed in ocean. Santa Barbara Channel, Ca., and beach launched before I bought it.

On my "shake-out" sail, the starboard lower rudder gudgeon [stock 2 piece] failed, as the machine screws pulled out of the transon, very rapidly filling the hull with water.

I purchased 4 inch port access covers, and cut holes in decks to access area for repairs, and found that what appears to be a 3" square aluminum plate, has almost completely dissintegrated, and the the fiberglass encasing it has failed, however, outer hull glass and gelcoat, appear intact and sound.

Does anyone have suggestions for repair procedure. I'm thinking thinner s.s. plate, new glass, and s.s machine screws, with washers and lock nuts.

Any imput would be appreciated!

Use epoxy when gluing the new plate in and glassing it in place. Polyester resin does not adhere well to metal, especially stainless. Make sure the stainless is roughed up alot before installing.

Also, make sure the repair area is well cleaned and dry. I've done quite a bit of glass repair on my 16 and I found it helps to run a hairdrier in the hulls for hours to dry out the foam floats a little and get most of the condensation out of the hulls. Then, focus the heat from the hairdrier on the repair area for a few minutes. This way any remaining humid air will be more likely to recondense anywhere else, and not on your repair.