Thread: GIS - Sacramento

Originally Posted by BobWes

Question re backing plated for the rudder hardware...



The backing plate will measure 50mm x 200mm. Will 6mm ply be sufficient as a backing plate for the through-hull fasteners used to install gudgeons to the hull? Or, should I use a piece of 25mm hardwood?

Thanks.

6mm is fine. The loads are very slight compared to other rudder systems.

the rudder fittings look to be a strange colour. Is it the photo? What are they made of?

Best wishes
Michael

We did ours externally, as shown below. A 3/4" thick piece of cherry, painted the hull color. The cherry's not that heavy, it's rot-resistant, and plenty stout. I guess that's why Mik didn't rip the gudgeons off last Fall when he tore up our rudder box

The rest of the story (for those who haven't heard it before) is that those screws shown attaching the pintles to the rudder box are "temporary" too-short, steel, flatheads... which were never replaced. They were an accident waiting to happen, and when Mik was wringing it out at Timothy Lake, they failed

"There is nothing so permanent as a temporary solution"

...the rudder fittings look to be a strange colour. Is it the photo? What are they made of?

Mik - thanks for the comment re 6mm for the backing plate. The fittings are stainless (from DuckWorks) and it is the lighting in the photo. Bruce's photo of his rudder fittings (post # 152 of his Building Shesha... thread) has the same color distortion.

David - Thanks for the photo. That is a pretty nice installation - one of your deviations, right? Seeing as how I already have the fasteners I'm going to go ahead with the backing plates installed on the inside of the hull. For the record, I had nothing to do with those screws coming loose at Timothy Lake... I was only serving as ballast that day.

did I see a screwdriver in your pocket?

Originally Posted by BobWes

Mik - thanks for the comment re 6mm for the backing plate. The fittings are stainless (from DuckWorks) and it is the lighting in the photo. Bruce's photo of his rudder fittings (post # 152 of his Building Shesha... thread) has the same color distortion.

David - Thanks for the photo. That is a pretty nice installation - one of your deviations, right? Seeing as how I already have the fasteners I'm going to go ahead with the backing plates installed on the inside of the hull. For the record, I had nothing to do with those screws coming loose at Timothy Lake... I was only serving as ballast that day.

Definitely one more example of our deviancy

And wonderfully fine ballast I'm sure you were And I'm sure Mik never let you near enough to the tiller to be able to interfere with the rudder

One of the guys attending the launching on the 6th sent me this short video clip: (until I can figure out how to embed videos in a post, we'll have to make do with a link to my Flickr account)

wessel launch on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That's nice to see... but... didn't you give anyone a ride?????

Morgan wasn't there.

By the time we waited for everyone to get there, quit yakin' and I made my little speech, everyone was freezing. Remember, this is Northern California in February - we exercised our inalienable right to complain about the weather to the point that folks headed to their cars and homes as soon as they could. I mean, it was below 60 that afternoon! And cloudy, too!

.

Bob - the boat is looking great - I believe that in order to make the tape line disappear you need to first fill the weave - try using System 3 clear coat - does not run (reportedly) as much as others. You will want to sand about 1/2 - 3/4 inch of the edge of the taped area on the sides - to blend it into the sides of the hull. Also double check the fillets on your chines inside to insure you don't have any gaps (leak). Looking good!!

...the boat is looking great - I believe that in order to make the tape line disappear you need to first fill the weave - try using System 3 clear coat - does not run (reportedly) as much as others. You will want to sand about 1/2 - 3/4 inch of the edge of the taped area on the sides - to blend it into the sides of the hull. Also double check the fillets on your chines inside to insure you don't have any gaps (leak). Looking good!!

Rick - thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate them.

Thanks, too for the suggestions. I filled the weave with a couple more applications of epoxy. I faired the edge of the tape with a mixture of thickened epoxy. I was pleased with the results - but I had to push my luck just a bit further... After the fairing mix set up I decided to apply a coat of epoxy over the the fairing mix. I applied the epoxy with a roller and watched for runs, smoothing out the occasional one with the roller. After not seeing any new runs in about a 20-minute period, I figured there wouldn't be any more and I went home. I had a bit of a surprise the next day when I found a couple dozen small runs. It's not that they were difficult to remove, it is that removing them took time away from other tasks - and could have been avoided altogether.

The interior is nearly complete. Mostly small details - installing the oarlock sockets; a few bigger tasks - installing the quarter knees and center case gusset; and (for me) a bigger chore - installing the breasthook. I expect to turn the boat over tomorrow or Monday to install the bottom skids, apply one more coat of primer, and be ready to paint.

I am also in the midst of building a set of oars. I'll probably make a "set" of three as the first one, while functional, has its faults.

How is your project coming along?

Things have been busy fitting things out following last month's launch. Someone once said building the hull marks the half-way point of a boat building project. They may have underestimated...

At any rate, I have been busy getting Karen Ann ready for next week's outing on SF Bay (okay, the Richmond Inner Harbor - but I can see SF Bay from there!).

Karen Ann received her first color coat today.



It is bright! I'll be easy to spot on the water!

Another lesson learned: the color coat brings out more flaws and blemishes than the primer. I'll do two more color coats (sanding between) and take her rowing next weekend. After that I will go back and fix those warts, pimples, flaws and blemishes.

I know not everyone thinks this is a good color, but I like it.

I like it too!

Great progress.

Looks good. Always liked yellow!

With the painting I use auto body filler to fix the major blemishes before the last two coats of final. Make sure the filler isn't a dark colour though and don't get carried away with it - but that considered it can help quite a bit.

MIK

You're almost there Bob - she looks great!