Rudder has damaged back of boat, help needed ASAP

Hi Matt, this is a common problem on contenders of that age - it happended on 473, the one I had before 620.  The most widely used fix is what has already been suggested: a plywood pad coated in epoxy and clamped well on, and  big washers.  It should at least be accessible through the transon hatch.

Edited by winging it - 22 Jun 12 at 10:18am

You don't need to put fibres in the epoxy bonding mix. An ideal mix would be a bit of colloidial silica to thicken it so it doesn't run out from the bond and microballoons or glass bubbles to bulk it out. The laminate should be roughened up with  80 grit and be clean and dry. Try to do a good fit on the plywood to minmise the amount of epoxy required. The wood should have a wet mix of epoxy applied and allowed to tack off before fitting. The end grain will soak up more so give this a second application just before it goes in. Try to get some clamping pressure on the plate if possible with a temporary strut in the tank while the resin cures.