The manual has a little bit of an out of order sequence. I'm trying to get to the point where I can roll this beast over and work on the bottom. One of the steps before rolling is to cut a hole in the transom for the tiller. In order to do this I need to build the rudder so that I can mark the correct place for the hole. Building the rudder is a few chapters later. So I had to work a little out of order to complete the task. One of the VERY FEW shortcomings I've found in an otherwise outstanding manual.
The rudder requires milling some structure to build in the airfoil taper. This required strategic beveling of the framing. Not hard but requires attention to detail. In the kit there are templates for all of these pieces and they fit very well when cut accurately.
As you can see this thing need a lot of clamps. I needs to be watertight when it's finished so pay close attention to the joints in the framing. I had one that was a little open and when I checked to see if it was leaking (by blowing into it, I'm glad no one was around to see that), it was. A little thickened epoxy fixed that.
The bottom plate adds authority to the rudders effectiveness and according to the manual acts as a makeshift re-boarding step. I glued and screwed it on then checked for squareness. I lucked out and it was dead on without any adjustment. I used 4 screws to attach. The manual only shows three but I put in four but what the heck, I splurged.
I feel like I'm really getting the hang of the woodworking (gee Bill, it's only taken you 2 years) and now I have many less "false starts" or "do overs" than I did when I first started building.
Next up, finishing the rudder.
Hours this session: 8
Total hours 490
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