Messages

Ebb, thanks for the additional info you inserted in your initial reply above. You are a real reservoir of information on these antique plastic classics. The shoe I have should marry pretty well to the keel. Dimensionally, Fred Pomeranze did a great job making the mold back in 2004. I think several of us ordered them at the time. Here I am 17 years later finally slapping it on the boat!

Ebb, any thoughts why traffic on the site for  new posts has fallen off? My theory is that we’ve covered just about every nook and cranny, bolt, mod, spar, through hole, etc and the internet visitors are just checking out the books from our library……

Thanks ebb – – you always know what you are doing which is great for me because I usually don’t! I kind of expected I’d have to fair in some FRP to get the new shoe to fit properly into whatever is left  at the bottom of the keel but the idea with the 1” dowel is fantastic and I would never have thought of it! Using a car jack to get all the stuff in the right position with all the weight is another great suggestion. Last time I used the car jack on the boat was when I strengthened the strong back and jacked it up to put the stainless steel bar in place.

Say ebb, sometime pretty soon on haul out I'm going to install the new rudder and shaft that I built earlier this year. I'm also going to replace my rudder shoe with a silicon bronze replica made by Frank Pomeranz back in 2004. I knew eventually I needed to put it on the boat. The original is pink, indicating dezincification. I know you replaced your shoe and I need your opinion on something related to the install. it seems to me that the shaft must fit perfectly into the shoe that is to say the angle has to be perfect in order to have the shaft pivot without binding at all on the rudder shoe. Did you block the new rudder shoe into position and then finagle the exact position with the shaft in the bearing? It seems to me that just installing the new shoe with the old "peen" holes through the keel may not position the new shoe exactly. Any other steps You might've taken to make sure the shoe and the shaft were in perfect alignment? Previously you mentioned that the rudder will probably drop to port and someone else posted that you need at least three cement blocks and a little bit more to be able to drop it out if it's sitting on a concrete surface. I don't want to tell the yard I need to jack hammer the concrete and then dig a hole! Ha ha!

Also, peening is not easy! How about 5/8 silicon bronze bolts! I have some and the slotted heads fit perfectly in the shoe predrilled holes which are countersunk. Having lock washer and nuts exposed on the opposite side may slow my boat speed by .0001 knots / hour, but if I leave two of the bolts protruding, ha haaa- I have an attachment point for the shoe zinc!

Bill, you are right about getting the sheeting angle in the right place. I have the benefit that I have a track installed way back on the toe rail all the way up to the middle of the aft deadlight. Should be a sheeting spot in there somewhere I suppose!

I also have the original track  installed close to the house for the working jib even though that’s probably not exactly in the right place based on something you posted a long time ago in a far away land!

Thanks Ed, I spelled your name wrong in my previous post sorry about that! I guess I'm not totally senile since you're admitting that you did have that discussion somewhere on the forum about getting a 120. I think that's the way I'm going to go I love your testimonial!  I think it'll be the perfect sail- the working jib would've been too small for what I really need.

376 presently has a 155 and working jib. A lot of time I’m sailing single-handed in Galveston Bay with the working jib, fall through spring when there’s lots more wind than in the summer. Two weeks ago a microburst hit our marina with 60 to 70 mile an hour winds during a thunderstorm , and pulled the working jib off the Furler and shredded it. Say Bill, I kind of remember in a post somewhere that Ed Akers recommended a 120% and said that was probably the best sail for all around windier conditions. Do you remember that and do you remember any of the discussion around it? I’m thinking going that way instead of replacing the working jib for single handing. Would put on the 155 in summer, then the 120 fall through spring. Any other opinions?

Nine years later, still no issues with the insulation method described above. And the pvc sheet is still bright white, no smells, stuck firmly to the hull

Thanks ebb. Sorry for the disappearing ink poltergeist. Good info and some ideas I can try out. I like the bolt idea, can’t say peining rod is something I have a craving for!

Say ebb, the copper keeper strap is about 1” wide, I think, and you mentioned it’s doubled over 3 times? And what gauge (how thick) is the copper strap before doubling it over? By the way, my new mahogany rudder has darkened to a nice brown— I’ll name that color brown dog.....

African Mahogany: My sample has clearly marked growth rings in the end grain. African mahogany lacks them. This rules out African Mahogany as my sample. My sample also has the ray ripples the same as those shown in the photo for Honduras species. African doesn’t have these.

Sapele: This species is farther away from Honduras mahogany, is usually darker and more dense. It’s end-grain exhibits what look like lighter growth ring bands, but they are consistently distributed throughout, unlike Honduras where they only define growth rings. My sample has clearly defined growth rings. Also my sample has no cedar like smell when working with it. In fact, it has almost no smell.

I was not aware of the range of the color of Honduras mahogany depending on age and where it’s grown. Color my world with New World true mahoganies.

What do Y’all say is my rudder wood sample made of? If it’s not Honduras, I’m suing Mason Lumber under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act!

OK! If you've read the descriptions from above, let's look at a piece of my rudder board. And do some comparisons.

Ebb raises interesting questions about mahogany species, related species usually from Africa, not the New World, and "marketing names". Below shows descriptions from The Wood Database https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/mahogany-mixups-the-lowdown/ where they do a good job of clearing up popular mahogany confusion.

Thanks, ebb. Should be Honduras- the mill tag says so, but——-Anyway, copper it is for the keeper strap since I haven’t found source for silicon bronze.

Posted my mahogany rudder replacement in the Gallery: A—376 Afloat http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussion/showthread.php?609-A-376-Afloat/page3 It starts about halfway down the page.

Used a 3/4" hole saw, then used jig saw to square off the front side for the washer and nut. I'm not proud about how they look (uneven, not very shippy unlike the rest of the rudder.) But they will work fine. A 9/16 box wrench fit the nuts in the peeps.  I will fill them in with epoxy or other material. Some holes were almost spot on in alignment while others were deviated, but OK. These were 9 1/2" long holes. (Two of the drifts were 10")

Originally, I thought it would be cool to be able to take this design apart if I bashed up a plank like my father did years ago.  This is not really practical. Damage from a grounding will wreck more than just a board, the drift construction won't work for disassembly, and the swelled mahogany is going to grip the threaded rod. And the bolt rod will be bent. The boat would have to be on the hard for a long time  to dry out enough to slide boards off the bolt rods. And to top it off, it isn't likely I'll have to pull it apart for any reason.

I did put a few drops of blue Loctite  on the rods before screwing them into the shaft holes so they wouldn't back out while I was attaching and detaching the rudder from the shaft by installing and then removing the nuts. I still need to cut the slot for the keeper strap. Otherwise, I'm pretty much done.  I have a new rudder shoe (silicon bronze made by Frank Pomeranz in 2004) and will put it on when I replace the rudder at next haul out. This design doesn't need sealants, 3M adhesives, or resorcinol to hold it together. Authentic Honduras Mahogany is almost indestructible in salt water  as long as you keep up with the bottom jobs (teredo navalis anyone?) It may last longer than the rest of the boat,  and it will certainly outlast me! Fun fact: teredo worms are actually a type of clam that uses its miniature shells to chew its way into wood.