Rudder

Skorpa's rudder hangs down into the water about 2 1/2 feet. The rudder needs to be able to swing up when the boat is in shallow water.

So I need to build a kick up rudder. The blade will have a foil shape much like the centerboard.

The rudder blade is in fact constructed in a similar manner to the big board.

Vertical grain cherry and walnut strips were glued up to form a blank and then worked into a foil shape.
My favorite shaping tools are in the photo. The tools seem to work in some situations and then sometimes not.Then I either sharpen the tool or try a different tool until something works.

The shaped blade has been sealed with unthickened epoxy and is waiting to be covered with glass cloth.

The extra glass around the edges will be trimmed when the epoxy has firmed up but before it gets rock hard.

In this photo you can see where I have made epoxy bushing around areas where there are holes into the blade.

You can see the pivot pin protruding from one bushing. The upper bushing is for the stopper knot on the uphaul line.

These are the rudder cheeks. They house the blade and hold the hardware( pintles and gungeons ) that attach the rudder to the boat.