Here are a few pics of my rudder box, rudder fittings and how yellow tape is used to ensure all is square, much easier on a square boat!

Rudder retaining clip also in place.



with the top yoke put in place just to show how it fits on top of the box. will be screwed and glued in place. There are also two strengthening pieces which fit under the yoke and glue to the yoke and rudder box sides.



Very little spare transom on the RAID41 using these UK fittings but just fits. Here are the machine screws on the inside face of the transom.



Then tried the rudder blade and it no longer fits! With no coatings on rudder cheek faces and final varnish to add to rudder foil everything was fine. Now there are 3 epoxy coats on both cheek faces, 3 varnish coats on both faces and 3 varnish coats on both faces of the blade, that's 18 coats of things the box is now too narrow!

I seem to have hit the every thing going wrong period.

Brian

Just a thought Brian but have the pintle fittings tensioned the box a little and closed the slot? I was thinking you may be able to apply a bit of brut force and open the gap rather than grinding off all your hard work.

Frustrating but stick with it.........what is your ET of splash.

Cheers
Mike

Thanks Mike, made two wedges to open the box out a bit. My small epoxy mix to glue the box yesterday is going off rather slowly so took the benefit of a poor mix to open the box out a few mm. very small gap appeared on the inside edge of the front spacer post, so mixed some more epoxy and filler and drained in in the gap and made a thicker fillet for the edges.

I nearly always use small syringes to mix small amounts of epoxy. Using the large ones is not trustworthy when mixing small batches. My fault for not taking the trouble but at least it allowed me to open up the box a bit. By using small syringes it's years since I mixed a dodgy batch, until yesterday, so let that be a lesson.

ETA depends on if things stop going wrong. the only hardwear to fix is two deck cleats and the top yoke.

Still need to sort the non slip, fastening oars in place as toe straps using mizzen partner at the back and the mainsheet bridle fixing points at the front.

Bend on sails, splice all control lines and halyard ( very easy with dyneema and correct fid).

Then protecting skids should be last job. Have some 50mm Kevlar, too poor to afford brass strip!

Some time soon hopefully!

Brian

this business of finishing! It just keeps on moving out of reach. How do you guys with completed boats find this "finishing".

Seems just best to go out to the boat and work, things just comeup all the time, then deal with it and go back indoors. Further forward? Does not feel like it but I guess sometime it will stop and I will stand there gobsmacked.

Today was supposed to be re-doing the non-slip. Thought I would check out the rudder box assembly after epoxying yoke and supports in place yesterday. OK, looks ok, fits ok, swings ok on pintles. Just try the forward yoke and temp strings to see if it all works. Lots of fettling after so much epoxy and varnish coatings. Eventually all together and it works - just - forward yoke almost catching mizzen partner but just ok.

Tie on tiller extension - tiller far too low in boat, feels horrible. Tiller hinges up to clear cockpit when camping but is going too low, so make up two wedges to raise tiller. Worry about impact strength of tiller / yoke join and decide I must strengthen it. I fall about a lot in boats.

Make up kevlar side patches and glass patches to go over the top of the kevlar. MIk advised a trial anyway, so this can be the trial. Epoxy kevlar and glass to rear 4" of sides of tiller, glue wedges to forward yoke, fill string holes on both yokes. Another day gone! never got near non-slip!

How was it for you guys - trying to cross that elusive finish line. It's like doing the 100 metre dash but the last yard is done in super super slow motion.

Brian

Brian,

Do you know the Japanese term wabi-sabi? It is a philosophy or aesthetic about accepting the transience of beauty. I find it applies quite well to boatbuilding. There are three major tenets: Nothis is ever complete; Nothing is ever perfect; Nothing lasts forever. Every boat I've ever worked on - whether for myself or for a client - has been a case study in wabi-sabi <sigh>

Cheers,
David G
Harbor Woodworks

Thanks David for that.

Did make me feel better. In fact when I went out to Trim in the evening to add an another wet on wet coat to the tiller hinge area, I realised I had actually progressed.

The tiller yoke system all worked, I had strengthened the tiller hinge which had been bothering me, trialled the glass over kevlar idea, sorted out the height I wanted the tiller and brought the side ballast tanks into use by drilling two top fill holes just under the side decks. Using up two spare dinghy bungs to either fill with bucket and funnel, or self fill when laying on her side.

Try to sort the non-slip today but who knows.......

Brian

Boom twisting over because of quick lash up, but gives an idea of how it looks






So just a first lash up, very pleased with my home made sails. Move nicely as a bit of breeze filled in. Battens seemed to give good sail shape even though the head tension was too tight.

Mizzen boom set at about 1.45m up from mizzen mast base. Higher, lower?

Brian

Sensational - finish line looks to be in sight.

Steve

JAPANESE!

We have it here too ...

"She'll be right, Mate"

MIK

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thanks Steve.

Tried the mainsheet bridle located just back from the dagger board slot. looked to be a lot of rope between me and pulling up the dagger. Son suggested how about at the front of the cockpit between the two cleats at this deckhead strongpoint. No bridle just locate the ratchet block on an eyestrap.

This is where MIK mentioned Beth's mainsheet is located. So tried a mock up and it does leave the cockpit very clear for sleeping and getting to the dagger.

The boom is quite short and mast well forward, so the blocks on the boom are about mid-point. They will be pulling the boom forward against the downhaul tension though.



Brian

Turned Trim over today to try and sort the runners on the bottom, the bronze being 600 miles away. Was warned about getting kevlar tape to curve over the runners, but at £3.5 for 7 metres thought I would give it a go. No way would the kevlar stay down the sides, just kept popping back up every time.

Tried using packaging tape, this did hold it down but could not see what result I would get. So peeled it all off, threw kevlar away, put glass tape back down. Added another layer of glass to the mid section to use up the 10m I had bought and did the three wet on wet coats.

Listen to experienced boat builders!!!!!! ( Shouting at self)

Brian

WOW!!!

Fine photos! Beautiful boat!!! I like it!
Congratulations!

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Robert
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Thanks from the team for the kind words Robert.

with the hull upside down, had a look this morning at the dagger gap. My wife's nylon chopping board looked a good bet. Fits just perfect, the gap is about 4mm and the chopping board is about 2mm thick and seems to leave just the right gap with it inserted down one side, with a slippy surface to boot. I would prefer this full side support to the dagger rather than something just at the top and bottom edges which puts all the side force onto a small area

Thinking she might be due a new chopping board! Probably Sikafex in place just along the top edge? Starboard or port offset????

Brian

Are you sure that the chopping board is nylon Brian? If it is it could be bad news because nylon swells when it gets wet.

All the chopping boards I have seen are polyethylene or polypropylene which would be an ideal material for this job as long as you can fix it in place satisfactorily (it is very hard to bond). PE and PP both have a characteristic 'waxy' feel when you attack them with a thumbnail, they also both float whereas nylon should sink.

Think you are probably right. So it's not going to glue then. Would Sikaflex hold it? Formica is often used for lining the inside of cases, so may try and find a small piece.

Earlier issues about water coming up the dagger case at anchor might be solved if this spacer were fastened at the top and held over the other side at the bottom somehow, elastic or just being curved, so acting as a reed valve when dagger not in case and pushing aside when dagger inserted.

Been re-bending mizzen sail on mizzen mast. When it was laced it seemed impossible to adjust the downhaul tension (aka halyard tension) properly without tightening the lacing too much for the grommets. Wanted to separate the two issues, so have made up individual adjustable Dyneema loops at each grommet, with a separate downhaul from the tack to a clamcleat on the back of the mizzen partner which also helps keep the mast in the boat if inverted.

Brian