Metal fatigue and more, repair question...

[ErikG]

Hi all

A friend of mine had an accident and went "aground" and had some damages to his boat. He asked me to help him out.

The rudderstock has been bent right at the hull bearing by approx 3-4 degrees. How much might this weaken the stainless steel used? Is an x-ray necessary (expensive)? Can it simply be heated and straightened? Or do we have to make a new one (even more expensive)?

He also has some severe compression cracks at the aft end of the fin keel. I've seen "pro" repairs that don't remove all the damaged laminate but just glasses over the damaged part, not very pro to me. My suggestion is to remove all damaged laminate and rebuild. BUT when standing on the keel the structure will now miss out on an important part of he aft strength. Any suggestions or comments of how to support the hull structure when doing repairs is appreciated. My idea is to add extra support aft on the hull body to compensate, but how do I know that it's supportive enough?

ErikG