Here is the finished rudder tube. It is flush from the bottom of the tube to the opening of the hole all the way around. I'm not sure if this area ever leaked, but no there's not a chance.
Pardon the spider colony part way up the tube.
Here is the finished rudder tube. It is flush from the bottom of the tube to the opening of the hole all the way around. I'm not sure if this area ever leaked, but no there's not a chance.
Pardon the spider colony part way up the tube.
I sanded smooth the initial coating of thickened epoxy over the propeller apperture. I applied a final coat this morning. This should completely seal the area so that no water can migrate.
Here is the view after the final fairing coat of epoxy cured and was sanded smooth. The area is now completely covered with epoxy so it should stay dry. Paint was applied yesterday. My launch date is tentatively scheduled for June 9th.
Finished product.
Tim
good looking glasswork. I see you cut back the bottom paint near your cockpit drains. Are the original tubes in place or have you refit with seacocks?
Bill
Bill, the original tubes are still there and will be for this season. New bronze seacocks will happen next fall. I'm also going to replace the standing rigging including chainplates this fall/winter, maybe spring depending on weather. Slowly but surely this boat will regain all of its integrity and then some.
As I thought about where potential water ingression occurs the through hulls came to mind. As I looked closely at them I noticed a few spots that were void of any kind of filler. I decided to grind the area out a little and then put on some thickened epoxy. This is a temporary fix to get me through this season as I will be removing the tubes later.
This is the view as it appeared before I went at it with a grinder.
After some quick grinding it was apparent that there were gaps between the tube and hull. I don't think water would get to the bilge due to the glassing of the tube on the cabin side of the hull, but it's a quick pre-emptive strike against a possible problem. My dream is to throw the boat in the water this June and have it not leak one drop. One thin coat of thickened epoxy should take care of this potential problem.
I just ordered some silicon bronze bolts, nuts, and washers which will be used to hold the rudder shoe and strap to the hull in place of the pins that were destroyed upon their removal. My plan is to have the rudder put back on this weekend using 5200 as the bedding compound. Once the rudder is put back on I will be putting my efforts toward the interior so that it is habitable this summer. Fun Fun!
Last edited by Tim Mertinooke; 05-08-2007 at 09:44 AM.
I finished getting the shoe ready to be mounted the other day by making a form fit on the keel for it to fit into. The original setting of the shoe had a large gap of about an inch at the aft end that was filled with a bedding compound. I want the shoe to be set completely on epoxy with little if any play. My plan is to put the shoe in a ziplock bag then goop a large amount of epoxy onto the bag where the shoe and keel meet. Then with a jack set the shoe in place. I put the rudder back on temporarily to get the fit correct.
Once the epoxy began to kick I carefully cut the bag with a razor blade leaving a small lip to hold onto to peel the bag off once completely cured.
The shoe was easily removed. I released the jack and it came right off.
The plastic bag peeled off easy as well once the epoxy cured.
You can see in the last two pictures that there were a few small places where the bag wrinkled. I just sanded these area a little then coated with a thin film of thickened epoxy to fair them. THe end result was a solid epoxy mold for the shoe to fit on like a puzzle piece.
Hole placement and drilling.
This was annoying because whoever drilled the holes in the shoe originally did so in haste. The next two pictures show that all four holes were drilled at slightly different angles. Since I wanted to match the holes I did some measuring, and went at it with a drill. I only missed once and made a corrective drill which you can see in the next post when I mounted the shoe.
The final hole placement after only one slight mis-drill.
Last edited by Tim Mertinooke; 05-13-2007 at 05:38 AM.
I used 3M 5200 as a bedding compound for the rudder shoe and strap. This will provide a nice permanent bond that leaves me the possibility of removal in the future should I need to.
I had trouble finding bronze rods like the originals that held the rudder shoe in place. To compromise I purchased 1/4 inch carrage bolts. They did not have the length I needed to bolt the shoe in place so I filed the holes on one side of the rudder shoe so the carrage bolt would fit and I plan to cut the ends of off the bolts and peen the ends once the 5200 cures the end of this week. I left this area messy so that the peened ends will set in a gasket of 5200. THe area will be carefully cleaned once that is done.
Rudder Strap
The original rudder strap was well worn and ready to be retired. Ebb, our resident wizard generously gave me some bronze stock from which I made a new one. Thanks again Sir! This one should last another 45 years.
I used silicon bronze carraige bolts again for this application like the shoe. This time the length I needed was to be found so I bolted this in place with silicon bronze lock washers and nuts. The strap was bedded in 5200 like the shoe.
Last edited by Tim Mertinooke; 05-13-2007 at 04:51 AM.
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