Catch Up Not Ketchup

I have to apologize for ignoring you all. Got focused on getting some stuff done and doing YouTubez. I'm sorry. I will try to do better.

I'll try to catch you up. I know I'll miss things but this is about the best I can do for now.

So when we last left off I was making gaskets for the rudder stuffing box. That went Ok. I tried to true it all up with the mock up shaft I have. It's off a wee bit but by having the large thick gasket in there I can tweak it a little.

I really messed up big time with the stern bearing carrier. Cross threaded the thing trying to attach it to the stern tube. Should have known better. Ordered a bronze pipe to use but order was cancelled w/o me catching it. Waited two weeks before Paypal sends notice. Doh! Ordered something else I hope I can make work.

While I was waiting for the part that wasn't coming I tinkered with some of the other stuff. Bits & bobs that had to be done.

One of the fun things we got to do was wrap the rudder in glass & carbon fibre and infuse it.

Rudder ready to be wrapped in glass & carbon fibre

After a day and a half of prepping the rudder it was time to infuse it with epoxy. Lori joined me in the boat shed and after a final navel gazing session we got to it!

The infusion went better than I thought it would. Changing the oil in my vacuum pump made a big difference. Things I would do different next time are:

1. Invest in some release film
2. Put in small resin trap after vacuum outlet
3. Use woven carbon fiber instead of twill

Other than that it worked well. Unbagged it two days later.

Today I've sanded and roughly shaped the rudder and applied the first coat of fairing compound. It's raining like crazy so I don't know how long it'll take to kick off.

That's about it. Sorry it took so long.

Standby...

Arts & Crafts & Sandinsanity Returns

Today started out with a few Arts & Crafts. Making a rubber gasket for the rudder shaft stuffing box.

1/4" rubber for gasket

Prety simple but you'd be amazed how many people don't know how to make a gasket.

Cut hole for shaft

Bought these handy hole punches at Princess Auto. Indispensable for this king of work. The gold coloured sharpie shows up well on the black rubber.

Looking down with rudder box in place

Ready for installation (not yet though)

Next thing I had to do was scrounge through my collection of bronze fasteners. I got these from a generous fella on the boating forums. Probably coulda used more but didn't want to seem greedy.

Small collection of bronze fasteners.

Some of these will be used for the swim platform and the bronze screws for the rudder stuffing box as shown above. The others I don't know yet. I also received a few stainless steel screws suitable for holding the engine in place.

What it all looks like mocked up.

Mocked up

This backing block will get at least one layer of carbon fiber and a few layers of glass. It'll definitely be strong. 

Next step onto fairing the rudder (again). I've ordered the carbon fiber for it. Would like to do a resin infusion on that so keep an eye out here for more details.

And today's special feature. The Sandinsanity Returns!

Standby....