Help me bring EPOs back from the dead!

By some stroke of dumb luck I recently acquired a free set of EPO rudders. I was at a yacht club walking through was kind of a grave yard of unused catamarans and a member asked if I saw anything I wanted off a very sad looking Hobie 18. The yacht club was going to chop it up and throw it away, but I wasn't leaving without the EPO rudders. The first one came off easily, but once I looked closer at the second, half hidden by some weeds, I realized that the lower castings was broken and the bolt through the rudder was bent to a 100 degree angle. Once I got it home I used an angle grinder to remove the head of the bolt. That freed what remaind of the casting and allowed the bolt to pass through. Unfortunately whatever catastrophe caused this left the rudder in bad shape, but fortunately I want these rudders to find new life on my Hobie 16. The new rudder holes should be well clear of the damaged section. Now I am faced with what would be the best way to rebuild the missing chunk of the top of the rudder.

<Questions start here>
My thoughts were to build it back up with marine tex epoxy. I'll also fill the bolt holes and re-drill for H16 pattern.

1. Should I build it back up in layers so the epoxy can cure or does that not matter?

2. Should I remove any loose bits and apply or should I cleanly cut out the damaged section and build from there?

3. Is there a better way to do this that I'm not thinking of?

4. I know there are a lot if instructions out there on repairing EPOs. If you have one you recommend over others I would greatly appreciate the guidance.





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_________________
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan - Marketing Officer
USF18 - Social Media Manager

2010 NACRA Infusion
2004 F18 Hobie Tiger - SOLD
Hobie 16 - BREAKPOINT - SOLD

Marine-Tex is good for patching little dings, but because it has no reinforcing fibers, it's very weak in large chunks like that. It's also so viscous that you really can't use it with glass fibers - it won't wet out.

The first thing to do with that rudder is clean all the loose bits off and smooth out the "wound" so there's a nice, even surface to lay glass on. Edges (the glass part) should be tapered back about 1/2". A small disc grinder is your friend here.

Use a thick chopped glass / epoxy (WEST or similar) mix to build up the rough shape of the rudder - essentially where the foam was, but short of the outer glass layers. Let cure and file/sand to get it smooth.

Lay several layers of 4 oz glass and epoxy on each side (because of the shape, you won't be able to do both sides with one piece of cloth). Cure, shape and sand to the original profile. Done - and almost as strong as the original.

Thanks a ton Matt! Looking forward to seeing you at Caseville next month!

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_________________
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan - Marketing Officer
USF18 - Social Media Manager

2010 NACRA Infusion
2004 F18 Hobie Tiger - SOLD
Hobie 16 - BREAKPOINT - SOLD