Rudder Nearly There

Amid all the decorating (hanging lining paper in a small misshapen room!) and cycling with my better half so she could test her new bike, I managed to prepare the rudder and stock cheeks for varnishing. While not the perfect size and shape I think the rudder will look fine alongside the mahogany (or similar) faced ply. I may at some stage build a bespoke rudder to the original shape but my aim at this stage is to go sailing, not win any beauty contests - that comes later.

OK it's not perfect but it will certainly do the job

I just have to make up the infill pieces now and fair them into the cheeks. It looks like three thicknesses of 12mm ply is just too big but I may get away with just a little sanding with a bit of luck. I'm going to use a stainless bolt through the cheeks and a plastic sleeve in the rudder just to avoid unnecessary wear.

The rudder's held well in place with clamps - have to replicate that with the assembled stock

So tomorrow I plan to finish the infill parts and prepare for gluing it together. My first task for the West System Epoxy! I'll also prepare the two bulkheads for fitting, though I don't think I'll be doing that until the weekend.

On a final note, congratulations to Ben Ainslie for breaking yet another record, this time on the Round the Island Race.