Take a pebble

Had an away-day today as i needed a few things before i could do anymore work, principally the rudder is the centre of attention at the moment strange as its sat under the boat for the last two years since i built it.

Something the old man never did from day one was to replace the rudder bushes,  the original tufnol ones are looking more than a little secondhand so took the opportunity to visit Trafalgar Yacht Services near Portsmouth, very helpful people they were too.

After what seemed like an age i got the rudder dry-fitted to find the fit less than impressive and a little puzzling as i took the top angle of the blade directly from the original before butchering it for the rudder stock, an hour later and i had the rudder moving freely on its stock minus 10mm off the top of the blade.

Next i bonded the skeg on via an incredibly thick mix of wests and a couple of wedges, the positioning of which was done by eye as there is no other way, i'll finish 'bogging' it out tomorrow but other than that i'm very pleased with my new rudder

 

Welcome back my friends.

Good news i finally got two wheels on my wagon, what with the starboard keel going on a little under two hours ago, i can't quite believe i'll never have to haul the things up and down the driveway or around the garden - that is it they are on end of story.

Now i have achieved this i feel i can do anything so next stop rudder dry fitted so i can get the skeg mounted and then into the engine room to cut, shape and bond the bearers then get the engine in and fitted.

Its amazing how (although physically and mentally knackered) i'm really up for getting this boat done by years end - wish me luck.

cheers

rog

What a difference a week makes.

Incredible really, i've had one of those weeks where everything i've touched has turned to gold. At the start of the week i was finishing off the stub and putting another hit of fairing compound on the hull.

Afterwards i got set on getting the port keel into the shed although seeing the number of obstacles i had to get around to get the keel to this point was a task i was coming to dread.

To my surprise the keel went through the side of the shed a treat but no sooner had I surmounted that problem i was stuck as to how to line up the keel studs with the stub holes, after a quick phone call to a savvy mate of mine we had the keel located and in position within an hour.

The effect of all of this has been transformative for seeing just this one keel in place that has taken so much time and energy has motivated me beyond anything in recent times.

So much so that i'm now almost ready to fit the starboard keel later this week as i have worked all through the weekend and will sheath tomorrow (monday), this all in under 2 days from dragging it into the workshop to repair through stripping back ready for sheathing with all the materials for that job on the bench ready to go, the same process took about two weeks before.

Now i'm annoyed that paid work is getting in the way as i want to get the rudder dry-fitted next so i can mount the skeg and get that glassed in.
I think because i spent so much time and energy last year on the boat and didn't have a lot to show for it was really uninspiring to me but now I couldn’t be more juiced-up.

Cheers