Gary, I would sand it clean and coat it with epoxy (two coats at least) and then either varnish or paint it. Epoxy is the best primer and protector of wood. It is all you need to keep the water out, but it must be protected from UV deterioration, so used a high UV resistant varnish. If you prefer paint, I believe that as long as it's opaque it will provide UV protection. Be sure the end grain gets plenty of epoxy, obviously the bottom of the rudder, but also the top which will be rained on. I don't know how difficult it is to remove the rudder on an M17, but if I were to keep my boat in a slip I would store the rudder in the cabin when not in use. Keeping a boat in the water greatly increases the maintenance, mostly due to the affects of UV rays. And then there's all the stuff that grows on bottoms that are continuously under water. I have a friend who keeps his Wayfarer, fully rigged, on a trailer at the yacht club and easily lunches it whenever he wants to use it, which is normally 3 times a week. The boat is always ready to go, the bottom is always sparkling clean and he doesn't worry about the boat sinking when unattended. In addition he still maintains his "stuckness" on the same body of water. Rick Langer M15 #337

Im am going to redo my rudder this spring. I keep the 17 in a slip so the rudder will be painted. Do I need to do anymore than just sand her smooth or do I need to varnish before she is painted.

Also any ideas on what I might use to fill in the small nicks/scratches ? The plan is to: sand her smooth fill in where needed sand again apply bottom paint

Does this cover it or did I miss something? Thanks for your help

Gary