A bit of investigative digging

We noticed the two hairline cracks on either side of the rudder stock shortly after we hauled out in June.  And, we probably should have checked them out earlier in the summer.  A couple days ago we finally got around to grinding out the surrounding area to investigate.  The area is outlined in blue tape in the image below.

Our investigation yielded a couple small voids in the epoxy build up where the hull layup meets the bronze thru hull tube for the rudder stock.  The voids are the best case scenario since once exposed they are easily repaired. After giving the area a few days to dry out, I filled the voids with thicken epoxy.  Once the epoxy began to set I then added two layers of mat to to the area.

 
A couple days ago, Anne had created the horseshoe shaped pieces of  fiberglass cloth that extend well beyond the cracks and voids.  The fiberglass mat will provide additional strength to the area.

I focused on applying the fiberglass to the hull in the a.m. while waiting on yesterday's coat of Interlux Brightsides on the mast step to completely dry.  By midday I switched my efforts to the topsides and added the second coat of paint to the mast step and chain plate fittings.

We now have two coats down.  Hopefully we will have the painting completed before the next round of rain reaches the area on Tuesday evening.

Sanding and applying the paint on deck allowed enough time for the epoxy at the rudder to set.  By late this afternoon, I was able to sand down the repairs on the hull.

The next step in the hull repair is to fair out the surface.  Once the repaired area is smooth we will cover the area with barrier coat.  By the time we get a fresh coat of bottom paint on the hull our repair should be indistinguishable from the rest of the hull.