Sunday, November 22, 2009 |
Author: Jacob
As most boat projects tend to, this one has cascaded a bit, and what was originally a rudder repair has now also turned into a rudder skeg rebuild. (For those of you who don't know, a rudder skeg is the bit at the bottom of the hull where the rudder attaches).
As we mentioned in a previous post, we decided to have IdaSailor Marine make our new heel fitting before we came back down to Pisces. We raved a bit in the previous post, so I'll be brief, but IdaSailor did a fantastic job. There was a slight hiccup in the production schedule, but Joel at IdaSailor was completely on top of it, and went way out of his way to ensure that we had the piece in our hands before we were in Mexico. I think that in some ways this is a better testament to their great customer service than if everything had gone completely smoothly, there was a slight problem, but they were all over it and made it right. On top of the great customer service, the fitting is a real piece of art, and we've already gotten a lot of interest in it around the boat yard.
While the advantage of having this piece built ahead of time was that it supposedly minimizes boat yard time, the disadvantage is that we didn't have access to the boat for accurate measurements, so we more or less guessed at sizing (we had very rough estimates, but that's it).
As it turned out, I ended up spending about 15 hours in the last week with an angle grinder, full tyvek suit, respirator, standing three feet deep in a hole (I know the guy if you need a hole dug in the Mexican desert), grinding the hell out of our rudder skeg. We got everything in the right shape, and have been doing some serious fiberglassing work to make our new shape permanent and watertight. So far so good, we've got 6 layers of medium weight glass & epoxy on, and will be putting some finishing coats on tomorrow or the next day. Everything is looking great, and in the end will definitely be a big improvement on what it was before, but this project has definitely been huge, perhaps the biggest one we've done yet. You know you're in trouble when a day laborer comes by and tells you 'mucho trabajo'!
We managed to get the rudder in place in about a day, progress!
Home sweet home, notice the new skeg look.
Fiberglass goes on, it's a bit of a complicated shape, we've been alternating wraps around the bottom and around the back.
Fitting is now at the machine shop getting the lower strap shortened and bolt holes drilled.
View of the boatyard from the road, note the cow on the left.
As we mentioned in a previous post, we decided to have IdaSailor Marine make our new heel fitting before we came back down to Pisces. We raved a bit in the previous post, so I'll be brief, but IdaSailor did a fantastic job. There was a slight hiccup in the production schedule, but Joel at IdaSailor was completely on top of it, and went way out of his way to ensure that we had the piece in our hands before we were in Mexico. I think that in some ways this is a better testament to their great customer service than if everything had gone completely smoothly, there was a slight problem, but they were all over it and made it right. On top of the great customer service, the fitting is a real piece of art, and we've already gotten a lot of interest in it around the boat yard.
While the advantage of having this piece built ahead of time was that it supposedly minimizes boat yard time, the disadvantage is that we didn't have access to the boat for accurate measurements, so we more or less guessed at sizing (we had very rough estimates, but that's it).
As it turned out, I ended up spending about 15 hours in the last week with an angle grinder, full tyvek suit, respirator, standing three feet deep in a hole (I know the guy if you need a hole dug in the Mexican desert), grinding the hell out of our rudder skeg. We got everything in the right shape, and have been doing some serious fiberglassing work to make our new shape permanent and watertight. So far so good, we've got 6 layers of medium weight glass & epoxy on, and will be putting some finishing coats on tomorrow or the next day. Everything is looking great, and in the end will definitely be a big improvement on what it was before, but this project has definitely been huge, perhaps the biggest one we've done yet. You know you're in trouble when a day laborer comes by and tells you 'mucho trabajo'!
We managed to get the rudder in place in about a day, progress!
Home sweet home, notice the new skeg look.
Fiberglass goes on, it's a bit of a complicated shape, we've been alternating wraps around the bottom and around the back.
Fitting is now at the machine shop getting the lower strap shortened and bolt holes drilled.
View of the boatyard from the road, note the cow on the left.
5 comments:
Oh, you two are having way too much fun, but happy to hear that you are making progress!
J & J
I recommend lubricating the rudder shaft, pintles, and bearings with waterproof grease LURIPLATE NO. 130-AA which comes in a yellow tube. Replace the upper rudder stuffing box packing while you have the chance. My new rule is to replace rudder and prop shaft packing on every haulout after my upper rudder bearing jammed unexpectedly during last months yard period.
Greg
J & J
The excellent way that you have handled Pisces rudder problem has catapulted the two of you into upper level cruising status. The rudder is the most important part of the boat so fussing over it is time well spent. You should be feeling a real sense of accomplishment right now. Super Job !
Greg
Happy Turkey Day amigos- wish I was there with you all. Your rudder looks amazing! xoxoxo
Hi, guys! We're glad to hear that you're back at it. Jack and I are looking forward to keeping tabs on your next adventures. Most of what you've posted so far sounds like gibberish to me :), but I can't wait to read up on storms, food preservation and everything in between. You've got a place to stay in Seattle when you swing through next time.