I had the same problem and ended up replacing the rudder. I don't know if you sail in fresh or salt water. I sail on SF Bay, and found quite a bit of pitting on the rudder post where it enters the rudder. While the rudder post is pretty sturdy, I was concerned that it had been weakened enough by the pitting to pose a safety issue. Of course, if it did break it would probably do it at the worst possible time when the stress was greatest from heavy wind or seas. Your rudder should float, I believe. You might be able to have someone cut the rudder post and insert a tube to strengthen it, but doing that properly might cost as much as a new rudder. If you have no pitting, draining the water and drying it out seems like a good move.

::
:: :: My rudder seems quite heavy when I compared it to
:: :: another in the yard. Does anyone know roughly how much a
:: :: S22 rudder should weigh? Also, if mine is
:: :: extraordinairly heavy because it is water logged, who
:: :: might I talk to about a new rudder?
:: ::
:: :: Input appreciated.
:: ::
:: :: Tom
:: It sounds like the rudder could very well be
:: water-logged, but I wouldn't give up on it quite yet. On
:: the Seal's Spars website they list a new rudder for a
:: S22 but the cost might just exceed the value of your
:: entire boat. In the 'Sailboat Maintenance Manual' by Don
:: Casey (a great resource for anybody with an aging
:: fiberglass sailboat) there are instructions for
:: draining, drying out, and repairing "weeping"
:: rudders--apparently this is a very common problem. Best
:: of luck.
::
:: Steve