THE RUDDER IS CREATED
The 8 cm thick oak sleepers for the rudder have been lying in the yard for some time and under the guidance of trustee Ron , Phil plucked up courage to tackle the build.
4 sleepers were selected and had to be planed down to just 40 mm thick .This took the best part of a day!
These were placed together and a copy of the existing rudder drawn on for the pattern.

These were  then cut to shape ready for fixing with epoxy resin.

Due to the cold weather , the gluing could not be done in the compound as epoxy will not harden below 10 degrees centigrade
Wednesday Phil decided to do this in his warm garage as a bit of homework.

The individual pieces were taken home separately as lifting heavy weights is a no no !
Unfortunately Phil forgot that after gluing,  the pieces became one solid weight.
Don't try this without support....(or A support ! )

Once back in the compound , the sanding down continued to make an attractive unit.

PROGRESS IS SLOW BUT CONSTANT
Since my last blog money has been in short supply.

Wednesday Phil now works alone when he wants  to (usually 2 to 3 half days a week.)
Under advice of trustee Ron, Phil  works on jobs he is confident in doing.

 He has now made a variety of blocks for rope pulleys
15 thus far.

 Phil then began making hardwood cleats to secure ropes to .

Having come up with a desirable pattern, this was drawn round to make 8 similar cleats.

the curves were difficult to cut so Phil used a pillar drill to make the curves. 

Then using the band saw, cut the straight edges forming the basic shape

 Having drilled the screw holes to secure them,  they were counter sunk for a smooth finish

 Wednesday Phil gained confidence from this and then progressed to his next task.....








STANCHION POST HOLDERS
 These holders will support upright posts which will hold the guard rail around the boat to stop anyone falling overboard,

 They are made from 8 cm off cut blocks of oak and are placed at 6 foot intervals on the toe rail and screwed and glued in place with epoxy resin.
Care had to be taken to make them vertical which proved difficult when working single handed.
20 have been made  and fixed.