CD 27 Rudder Post Question

[jneely]

I am having the cockpit sole on our CD 27 Troika repaired this week. In preparation I took off the teak collar surrounding the rudder post and discovered what appeared to be some sort of insert next to the rudder post. A photo of it can be seen here:

http://gallery.me.com/neely1#100267&view=mosaic&sel=0

Is this insert something that is original construction or was it put in by way of some kind of repair?

Thanks for all responses.

[hilbert]

I found the same thing on my CD28. The block was hidden under a teak collar. Neither the edge nor the through bolts that held the teak in place, were sealed properly to keep water out of the core. So much for the "QA" in the Cape Dory Video post.

[Ray Garcia]

Same here. I removed the block; let the core dry out; epoxied the life out of it; and put in a new block properly bedded.

Seems to have held up.

[jneely]

Thanks for the replies. Especially the photo. Does anyone know what the block is made of and what it does?

[Ray Garcia]

I believe teak, but I replaced it with mahogany. I put on a layer of epoxy and then 8 coats of varnish. I did not screw it down, I just bedded it in caulking compound.

It is more decorative than structural. Though it probably does add some reinforcement to the sole.

/Rg

[hilbert]

Why was it mounted in this way? The screws, bolted through the teak collar, make the rudder post/block semi ridged with the cockpit floor. Is there a reason that the block was not mechanically attached to the floor?

When I re-cored the floor, I epoxied it in place. I have wondered if this was correct.

Before

After