C&C 27 Association Forum

So the story of Oasis's rudder ends. 

Fortunately for me my insurer classified this as an accident, and covered the cost.  A local fiberglass fabricator/repairer estimated the cost to repair at $4300.  A new rudder, and all the "fixings" and shipping and tax etc from Phil's Foils in Ottawa was about $3800.  So Oasis now has a brand new rudder.

The old rudder with some kind of goopy fiberglass "frame" gluing two fiberglass halves together and foam core weighed about 75 pounds (bathroom scale) with the bottom 1/3 of the fiberglass cover missing from one side of the blade.  The new rudder is about 35 pounds with hardware installed - cedar core wrapped with fiberglass.  What a difference.  Had to push it into the water to instal!

Also notable is that the blade on the new rudder is about 6 inches longer and about 4 inches narrower.  Phil doesn't know why.  Could have been an after market rudder?  Or, perhaps Oasis being a shoal keel boat made in the Rhode Island plant, came with a different rudder?

New rudder is much lighter on the tiller, and though I have only had her out in medium air, seems to handle about the same, but with slightly less bite while beating.  ( you could validly say that may be my fault for poor sail trimming).

Anyway, all's well.  Thank you very much to all who offered ideas.  If anyone want photos of the guts of a Mk V rudder, let me know.

Barry  Oasis 1987 Mk V

Thanks everyone.  There is no shaft in a Mk V rudder. The only metal parts to the Mk V rudder are the gudgeons and pintles.  The blade is structural foam and fiberglass at the edges, and fill foam in the "hollow" centre. Top portion is not split, but I am guessing is is the same as the blade.

I did read the Hyperion rudder story.  Mk V is so big with the above water portion that I think weight of a wooden one would be a big factor, but still under consideration.  I think for a DIY project that would be easier than working with foam. 

I ran across a video showing a person who welded correctly cut foil sections to a vertical tube, filled the gaps between the foil sections with standard insulation styrofoam for fill and easy shaping, then glassed over the whole thing.  Interesting concept! 

I also found a place in Idaho that will fabricate a rudder, but would not be traditional Mk V shape (Mk V chord is 26 inches at top of blade and narrows to 19 inches at bottom).  He proposes a constant 21 inch chord with a NACA 12 foil which he says is the ideal for a rudder, vs the MkV rudder which is closer to a NACA 9 foil.  He believes this will give a performance boost.

Anyone know anything about foil shape?  The above is my knowledge!

Time is a factor too.  Phil has a 6 week production time.  Still on the hunt.  And waiting to see insurer's position too.

Thanks again for sharing knowledge and ideas.  I will keep the post updated for those who might be interested.

Barry  Oasis  1987 Mk V

Not an option here in Saskatchewan. I have the only Mk V in the province.  If anyone has a line on such place in Ontario, please let me know.  Thanks.  Barry

Old thread revisited.

On a Mk V rudder, is the temporary drain hole drilled from the bottom of the rudder straight up?  How far up, ie. how deep?

Thanks.  Barry  1987 Mk V

Hi.  Out of curiosity, may I ask what the speed and range is on battery?

Thanks.  Barry  Oasis, 1987 Mk V

I wondered about those.  But do you need cell phone reception for the app to work?

Barry  Oasis 1987 Mk V

Update from original post.  Cleaning all terminals I could reach did not help.  I wired in a jumper from power supply cable terminal on starter motor  to the ignition switch wire (which also has a terminal on the starter motor) with a little toggle switch in line.  Using this toggle switch bypasses the press button starter button and resulted in perfect starts every time.  Leads me to think it is a faulty starter button.  Note: if you try this be aware of 2 things - because it is a diesel, using this toggle switch, even without the ignition being on will start the engine - all a diesel like this (no electronic injectors etc) needs to run is fuel and something to turn it over!!!  Also, I learned the "sparking" way that turning off the main electric power switch DOES NOT CUT THE POWER TO THE STARTER MOTOR.  Recommend disconnecting batteries before doing this!

Will update when I locate and instal a new starter switch.

Barry  Oasis, 1987 Mk V

Since you appear to have good fuel flow, maybe the fuel pump is the problem?

Just a guess, I am not a mechanic by any stretch.

Barry  Oasis, 1987 Mk V

Don't know.  The starter won't work unless alarm is going - ie key on.  Key switch is finicky too - got to jiggle it sometimes to get alarm going.  Possible that may contribute. If jumping starter button doesn't help, I will try jumping the ignition switch.  Sooner or later I will find the problem.  Never a problem when the sails are up and the wind is blowing!!!!

Barry  Oasis, 1987 Mk V

My first bet would be Steve's idea.  But my second suggestion would be to check the fill hose - not likely to have a kink, but could be an internal delamination and collapse?  Might let a little fuel through slowly?  Just a guess, but....

Barry   Oasis, 1987 Mk V

Thanks guys.  I will give it a try!

Bary  Oasis 1987 Mk V

I just did mine on my 1987 Mk V.  There is plywood under the fiberglass.  I just drilled new hole, plugged the old ones, and used the old lag bolts the old head was bolted down with.  Reconnected the hoses, and away it went.  Took less than 1 hour.  There is a thread somewhere in the Black Arts showing a picture of a Mk  V where that owner drilled approx 2 inch access holes in the vertical face of the platform the head is mounted on to get at the underside of the surface - he found some plastic plugs used in electric situations to act as removable fillers.  I did not find that necessary.

Barry, Oasis, 1987 MkV