i28 rudder weight

[Paul Comte]

Does anyone know what an i28 rudder should weigh?
I suspect ours is heavy but the small hole I drilled in its bottom yielded little water.

Before I add to my already too long refit list, I thought I'd ask...

Very Best Regards,
Paul Comte
Milwaukee, WI

[Wayne_Eastman]

Hello Paul,
I am a fellow Islander 28 owner. I am not at home right now, so I can't check it out in my owner's manual, but I seem to recall that the rudders on I-28s are made out of high density foam. This foam was covered with a thin coating of fiberglass. It doesn't seem like a unit made with these materials could contain much water. What makes you feel that you need to replace your rudder?
My I-28 is a 1984 and if your boat is from the 1970s then there could be differences. Hope to see you over at islander28.com
Wayne Eastman

[Wayne_Eastman]

Hello again Paul,
I'm home now and looked up your rudder in my owner's manual. In the letter from the manufacturer it is stated in underlined type ... "water will not be adsorbed into the rudder."
The name of the company that made the rudder is: The Foss Foam Company. They are available online at fossfoam.com or you could call them at (949) 646-0244.
The letter that I have from them is dated August 10, 1979. If you boat is older than that, then you might want to check with Foss Foam to see if they were the company that made your rudder.
Good luck during your restoration, Wayne

[Paul Comte]

Thank you Wayne,

My question stems from having to carry the rudder! I'll bet it weighs 70 or more Lbs.

I will followup on the lead to Foss Foam.

Very Best Regards,
Paul
i28



Paul,
i28

[hellosailor]

Paul-
Foss Foam, formerly of FL, was apparently acquired or merged and is in CA now.
I can tell you from having been through the process, the original I28 rudder was not all foam. It is a thick mild steel/iron plate (maybe 1/4"?) welded to the rudder stock, covered in foam then fiberglass. When the fiberglass develops even a hairlines crack--the foam saturates, the plate surface rusts, and it can hold a LOT of water without weeping.
We started with some exploration holes, routing out the rotted black former foam, and wound up uncovering over half of the plate. IIRC the plate extends through most of the top half or 2/3 of the rudder.

For want of any other source, it was replaced with a Foss Foam (FL) rudder. But, they have no records of the originals and I doubt they made them. They customized something else for the boat, screwed up the basic dimensions (which two of us measured, cross-checked, and cross-checked again on the order because shipping aint' fast or cheap) on what they built, so it had ot go back for a remake. Lost MONTHS on that mess, no compensation from Foss. And the new rudder is different enough to change the perfect balance to something just ordinary.
I'd strongly suggest avoiding Foss, and having your rudder rebuilt using the existing out skin, i..e having it split, rebuilt, and resealed if possible, or replaced by a glass shop that can do better reconstructions.
Never thought to weigh either one, but yes, with a steel plate in it, the original is heavy--wet or dry. If you drill some 1/4" holes and find black (not white/yellow) material behind them, that's foam degrading from water penetration.
I'd have to wonder, if you can save the skin (split it off) and then replace the foam with epoxy filled with glass microballoons, if that wouldn't be a better permanent solution. Pricey--but waterproof. Maybe the "new" company is run differently, but I'd be scared to deal with them.