Port Rudder -- 234hrs

Today some pictures, found the camera:) I picked the port rudder to work on today since I had been working on the port stern post. It needed the trailing edge shaped to improve water flow across, then I tackled creating the slots for epoxy where the rope rudder hinges will pass through. As I mentioned in a post along time ago cutting the slots which are then epoxy filled was slow and tedious using a router and not satisfactory using standard drill bits and jug saw. A year of home improvement and wood work on other projects have increased my knowledge base a bit and these slots were relatively quick and easy. The trick is using Forstner drill bits, 8" torpedo level, Ryobi battery drill with built in vertical level bubble, and sharp wood chisels.  First I level the area where the slot is going to be cut and solidly clamp everything in place on the work bench. Then using 1/2" Forstner bit I drill out the two ends of the slots keeping the drill as vertical as possible by watching the bubbel. Next I use the jigsaw to cut between the two holes outer edges. There is usually some material remaining since the jigsaw blade bends making the slot look like a dumbbell, but a few minutes with a just sharpened wood chisel and it looks like a proper slot.

Rudder leveled and first hole started.

Two nice square holes.

The jigsaw removes most of the material. 

Next a sharp chisel is used to square up the slot.

Now I'm certainly not saying this is the only or best way to do this slotting but it works for me. And by the time I finish the starboard rudder I should be expert at this technique:) The other hinge project includes adding kevlar to the the area where the rope hinges cross over between stern post and rudder. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow but I've got work to do preparing and get my other boat Phoenix next week.

On the port stern post/skeg I taped off the area and wetted out the kevlar on a piece of plastic then placed it on the hinge area. To get the sharp bend I hold the excess kevlar in place with pop-sickle sticks and spring clamps.

Port stern post

The pop-sickle sticks are remove in a few hours before the epoxy kicks hard.

The trick is cutting the kevlar while the epoxy is still a bit sticky, but this stuff doesn't cut easy with a utility knife like fiberglass cloth. I end up using a Dremel with cutting wheel to cut 90%+ of the threads then brand new razor blade to cut the remainder. The rudders get the same procedure.