Marinette Boat Forum

Hello All,

While preparing the hull for bottom paint I couldn't help but notice that the rudders have specks of rust on them (see attached photo). The rudders must not be aluminium so what are they made of and what would be the proper preparation of the rudders before painting them with bottom paint?

Just want to say that everyone on this forum has been a great help.

Thank you,

Kimbo

For some dumb reason Marinette made the fool things out of mild steel (at least mine had them).

Rotting wood on cockpit decks, and steel rudders...what were they thinking when so many other parts were aluminum?

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, is there anything I need to do before painting?

Same here. My 37' had steel rudders, which ended up rotting away to the point of destroying the cutlass bearings and the packing glands. If the packing is still sealing good, you might be ok, but....If you have it on dry land, you might want to drop them out and look at the shafts. I know it's a pain, especially if she has an aft cabin, but better safe than sorry. Mine looked the same as yours on the outside, but the shafts were half gone!