Crack in 411 rudder
We just purchased Swan 411 No 28 IF in Marseille, and are now trying to get her fit for the upcoming season. We will keep the (we think) charming short name of the boat, of which the origins are unclear, but which seemingly has nothing to do with the famous island in front of Marseille, since the boat was originally in Brittany. We bought her knowing that there will be quite some work, but I think this is part of the fun and challenge of owning a classic.

And here is our first problem: when the boat was lifted for the survey we saw a crack in the rudder. Any suggestion what may have caused this, and what potentially needs to be done to fix this? Thank you in advance for any advice, and I hope we get quickly to the point where we can contribute ourselves here.

Christian

Dear Christian,

it looks even the skeg has a crack. Maybe the boat hit the ground? Anyway, first of all, if I were you I would get rid of the antifoul and primer to see what there is underneath.

Fair winds!

Matteo (38/067 Only You)

I agree with Matteo - and the skeg crack might be more important to get right (since it provides all the support, stability and protection to the rudder), but you'll be fixing them both, I am sure. There are other posts on the rudder construction if you search the forum on 'rudder', and the boat drawings show the details. The good news is even if you had to almost rebuild the area of the skeg where the crack is, in the end it's not a lot of glass work. Furthermore, as for the rudder repair, it should be reasonably straightforward also. If you have not closed the deal yet, you might try and get an adjustment to the price for the skeg and rudder repair, but I do not know your situation, the boat's overall condition, or the deal. Sometimes it is worth talking about, for example when I bought my boat, the bottom was beginning to blister. That being a big job, I got a nice adjustment, and did the work the first winter, so it all worked out. Best of luck and welcome to the club.
Geoff
Corazon 411 #41

Christian:

Sorry I missed that your first post said you had already closed the deal, so as for getting an adjustment for the rudder work, maybe you cannot, but I expect you made a good deal, I know you got a good boat - the 411 is a great model (and yes, I am definitely prejudiced).  I have a question/favor to ask.  My boat does not have a spray hood over the companionway.  I have the S&S sketches that show how to arrange one, but when I sent that to a local marine canvas person out here, they needed more details, and in the end, I did not get it done last year when I was starting into it.  I know from just looking into it when I was going to make a set of detail drawings that the fit for this hood design on the 411 is quite tight, but obviously also do-able.

Because the boat can make a lot of water on deck going upwind, and simply because the hatch is just wide open and faces straight up, having a hood is important.  Here's my question - can you find out if your former owner had detail drawings of the hood, and/or if he can point me to the person who made the hood, so I can get a duplicate made up?

Any help on that would be appreciated...sorry to mix matters of the spray hood in the rudder post, but I looked at the photos of 'If' on the site, saw the hood and here I am.

Merci Beaucoup,

Geoff

Corazon, 411 #41

Thank you Matteo and Geoff for your comments. We saw the other crack, but did not give it much attention (which now changes). The boat will be lifted two weeks from now to fix the engine/shaft seal. We will then also look at the rudder and see what must be done. I will add the findings to this thread.

The price of the boat was adjusted after the crack was discovered.

Geoff, I sent mail to the previous owner concerning the sprayhood, plus we will check whatever plan we find on the boat next week. There is a larger pile of paper we can sift through.

The rudder has now been repaired. The cracks that were seen where the result of a previous partial repair, during which only little stratification was done.