RUDDER SHOE DISCUSSIONS

[tcoolidge]

It's here. Pics attached.
Rough shoe (as is) $175.00. No mounting holes, no rudder shaft hole, ruddershaft bearing surface not hardened and polished. Take it to the machine shop of your choice for finish work. OR if I can find 4-5 people who are interested in a finished shoe, he will (and can) do the finish machining as well. He says building the jig to hold the shoe for drilling the ruddershaft hole is something of a pain and it's not worth it to him to do for one or two shoes but if there are a few people interested he will tool up. Estimated cost for a finished shoe is $250.00.
He cast two shoes in manganese bronze. We went with manganese because it is considerably harder and stronger than naval or silicon bronze but he can arrange casting in whatever alloy you might want.
Anyone interested, let me know.
Tom

[tcoolidge]

another view

[Bill]

I need one of those just to put on the mantel for everyone to see!

Seriously, I think one of the "finished" ones is what I should have. How is this going to work?

[tcoolidge]

I told the artisan that I would put a post here and see what kind of real interest there was and get back to him in a few days to let him know if I can find enough takers to make it worth his while. If I only get one or two I'm seriously thinking about making up the difference myself and holding on to the extras until someone wants them. Be nice if there was one available when needed instead of having to go through all this again. This guy does remarkable work and I'd kind of like for him to do the finish machining. He has a huge shop he putters in with several projects, both wood and metal, going and every one of them is a thing of beauty. I also don't want to find out what a machine shop is going to charge to do the setup and drilling for just one shoe.
Will post an update next week.

[tcoolidge]

The shoe maker is going to be doing more castings, this time in naval silicone bronze. He is also going to do the finish machining. If anyone is interested in acquiring a rudder shoe let me know.

Tom

[Hull376]

Tom,

I'm interested for sure at the price you're estimating. Will need one sooner or later, and it makes sense to take a bird in the hand! After you get the final tally of interested skippers, let us know the cost and if its a go or not.

[Bart]

I know this is an old post but if they're still available I'd love to buy one that is hardened on the bearing surface. Thanks. bartblank@yahoo.com