So, the “counter timber” (reference Lloyds) aka “tail feather” (reference Crocker and McIntosh) aka “horn timber” (reference most boatbuilders) has some checking and some rot around the rudder tube. We’re hoping to repair rather than replace this lengthy timber. More posts to come on this one..
Had the same condition on Tyrone. My take is fresh water/condensation slipping down the tube over time with nowhere to go. I chiseled away around the tube till I found some reasonably good lumber, then made a waxed form, loaded it up with a West System saw dust roux, enough to have encased the tube a bit and flooded the cavity. Did it over time with left over epoxy. Seems to have worked. Also, made a couple of brass struts which I attached from the upper part of the steering gear to the cockpit sole. It seemed to me that this should have been done with initial construction because the distance between the horn timber and the top of the gear begs torque effect, (trans.) movement.