Epic Rudder Repair Tips

Tip of my V12 Surf rudder hit a rock and tore the bottom edge of the rudder - see enlarged images.

Can you use fibreglass to re-seal or need to use other materials ?

All sorted. $25-30 repair by a professional. Cut out the broken shards. Fill with resin, re-shape and good as new. Saves me buying materials and time. Will steer clear of bloody hidden rocks and super low tide.

Glad to hear your back on the water again.

In my experience damaged Epic rudders can be difficult to repair - as they are foam filled to reduce weight, and once they get water inside the foam tends to expand, and this can make them split along the seams.

Epic sells the rudders over the internet.

While they will cost more than the $25-30 you had to spend, I find it is always good to have a spare rudder at home for the inevitable times when I need a replacement - and don't want to wait a week for it to arrive.

I've had to repair my V12 rudders (surf and small weed) multiple times since I've purchase the ski (July 2011). Races usually do the rudders in since I have a devil-may-care attitude in the heat of a race. Invest in some quality sand paper (a nice range of grits), epoxy, low density filler and carbon powder, and fill gouges and other faux-pas with these. Reshaping and fairing are no brainers after you gain experience with the first attempt. In fact, you probably will do a better fairing job than the finish of a new rudder. The total time it takes me to complete a knarled-to-perfect rudder job (with a 400 grit finish, which is hydrodynamicaly superior to a shiny, mirrored surface) is about 1 hour, including the fairing process. I also keep at least one spare rudder of each type so that the damaged rudder can have some time to dry before restoration.