Steve,
It is stainless. It is prone to corrosion. If you've got enough to
look (even "look") like a hole all the way through, my judgement
would be a new rudder sooner rather than later. Without an expensive
exam there's no way to know how far things have gone.
And you're right, they will fail when you need them most because
that's usually when they're being asked to steer in high winds and
currents.
Pat
ex-Elaine
On Jun 10, 2009, at 8:10 AM, Steve wrote:
> The rudder post is a Stainless steel pipe and it appears to be
> prone to crevice corrosion. I just pulled mine and cleaned up the
> post with naval jelly. While I still have a lot of pipe left, the
> crevice corrosion was about to pop a hole the pipe. which would
> allow saltwater into the post and into the rudder. I have decided
> to clean, fill with epoxy, surface the pipe, and then start a
> policy annual inspection.
>> Perhaps all these older rudders ought to be pulled and inspected
> annually. I suspect they will tend fail when you need them the most.
>>>
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