Rudder cap(?) rebed

[csoule13]

So, one item from my survey I'm looking forward to doing is removing, shoring up and rebedding what I think is called the rudder cap. Basically, this piece of teak. The core underneath is a bit soggy, so I'll likely at least dig out some of it, fill it up with thickened epoxy, and reinstall/replace the teak.

Anyone else tackle this and have a hard earned lesson or two to share?

[John Stone]

csoule
Sure. Here is a link to how we built a new cover plate. Go to the link and scroll down about 3/4 of the way.

http://www.farreachvoyages.com/projects ... rsion.html

[csoule13]

Thanks John. So, this is just a decorative piece of material to seal up where the rudder tube comes up into the cockpit? That's certainly takes some of the concern out of tackling this. I'd assume through bolting isn't the worst idea, either.

[John Stone]

Well I would not say it's strictly decorative. On the FR it provides rigidity and eliminates flex. My cover is built out of a home made epoxy and biaxial tube and a 1/2" thick plate of G10. That's about as strong as you can get.

I don't know what your rudder post/rudder tube looks like below deck. But, you can easily make it out of teak and epoxy or a bronze stern tube or similar to what I fabricated. As detailed on the link I used a bench top drill press and a hole saw. Pretty simple