Today I started on the rudder post of my Star 47.5x RC sailboat.
The post is made out of 5/32" brass tubing drilled into a wood support piece. The shaft is 1/8" stainless steel and fits perfectly inside the tube. The top of the tube is above the waterline so it doesn't need to be sealed. However in my case that really doesn't matter anyway as it is exposed to the outside deck and not the interior.
I started by drilling a 5/32" hole through a wide piece of flat plywood using my drill press to ensure that the hole was as perfectly vertical as possible. Then I inserted the 5/32" tube through it. When the board sits on top of the sheer/deck it will perfectly line up the tube with the fin.
The wood support is made out of 5/8" dowel cut to 2 1/4". I used my drill press again by cutting a 5/8" hole into a board to hold the piece of wood, and then swapped out the bit with a 5/32" bit and drilled through the center of the dowel.
Then I shaped the bottom of the dowel with a slight angle to mimic the slope on the bottom of the hull, and then slipped the piece onto the tubing and aligned it all up. To get the tubing as straight as possible I had to turn, or skew, the board a slight bit to account for inaccuracies but now it looks fairly aligned with the fin. The fin was inserted into the fin tubes upside down so that it comes out the top. That way I can align it with the rudder tube. Hopefully when it's all put together properly the two will line up.
Then mixed up some thickened epoxy and glued it down. The tube is only inserted about half way down the piece for now so it will not be glued in yet.
When it dries I will remove the tube and then drill through the bottom with the 5/32" bit on an electric hand drill.
Once I decide where the deck will go I'll then install the tube with epoxy to seal the hull and the inside of the support dowel. Will also probably add some additional support pieces.
Aloha! _/)
The post is made out of 5/32" brass tubing drilled into a wood support piece. The shaft is 1/8" stainless steel and fits perfectly inside the tube. The top of the tube is above the waterline so it doesn't need to be sealed. However in my case that really doesn't matter anyway as it is exposed to the outside deck and not the interior.
I started by drilling a 5/32" hole through a wide piece of flat plywood using my drill press to ensure that the hole was as perfectly vertical as possible. Then I inserted the 5/32" tube through it. When the board sits on top of the sheer/deck it will perfectly line up the tube with the fin.
The wood support is made out of 5/8" dowel cut to 2 1/4". I used my drill press again by cutting a 5/8" hole into a board to hold the piece of wood, and then swapped out the bit with a 5/32" bit and drilled through the center of the dowel.
Then I shaped the bottom of the dowel with a slight angle to mimic the slope on the bottom of the hull, and then slipped the piece onto the tubing and aligned it all up. To get the tubing as straight as possible I had to turn, or skew, the board a slight bit to account for inaccuracies but now it looks fairly aligned with the fin. The fin was inserted into the fin tubes upside down so that it comes out the top. That way I can align it with the rudder tube. Hopefully when it's all put together properly the two will line up.
Then mixed up some thickened epoxy and glued it down. The tube is only inserted about half way down the piece for now so it will not be glued in yet.
When it dries I will remove the tube and then drill through the bottom with the 5/32" bit on an electric hand drill.
Once I decide where the deck will go I'll then install the tube with epoxy to seal the hull and the inside of the support dowel. Will also probably add some additional support pieces.
Aloha! _/)
Comments
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave comments regarding building a Star 45.