I don't know if the rudder is supposed to be hollow but it doesn't seem like
a good idea to me. When I rebuilt my rudder after the bottom edge was
damaged by groundings I found many voids in it. I was able to locate then by
tapping on the rudder with a screwdriver handel. I drilled two holes into
each void and injected epoxy into one hole until it came out the adjacent
hole. I can't tell if I got them all but certainly I was able to inject a
lot of epoxy. 

Of greater concern to me was when I discovered the the keel housing also
contained large voids. If anyone is interested in how I located and
addressed the voids I have placed a description in the archive about 5 years
ago but will repost if it can't be found. Suffice to say that I injected and
poured over three gallons of polyester resin into the keel and can't be sure
I got all the voids filled. My boat is a 1976 and the keel had been damaged
with a large crack all around the base so it might not be typical but those
with older Rhodes might want to consider the possibilities.

Graham Stewart
Agile, Rodes 22, 1976
Kingston Ontario

-----Original Message-----
From: Rhodes22-list [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of
Allyn Baskerville
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2021 6:00 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Wallowed Out Holes in Rudder/Head Assy; Flex with
Rudder

The rudder on my Rhodes is hollow - are all the rudders hollow? We just had
single digit temps for a week, and I didn't think of the possibility of the
rudder being partially filled with water, which it was, but there doesn't
appear to be any freeze damage. However, the holes the bolt that holds the
rudder to the rudder head assembly are wallowed out on both the rudder and
the head assembly. It's been like this since I purchased the boat, but I'd
like to fix it as it's gradually getting worse. Are there supposed to be
bushings where the rudder attaches to the head assembly?

I generally feel a lot of flex in the tiller and/or rudder on windier days,
which is a pretty high percentage here in Oklahoma. I can't tell exactly
where the flex is coming from, but I think it's the rudder head assembly,
which is made of plastic. Has anyone else noticed flex? If so, can you
please describe what you did to fix the issue?

Thanks - Allyn