general questions about my Pooduck

[Dave Gray]

I have two questions that are bugging me at the moment and hope that, with the welter of opinions usually offered at this site, you all can help me.

1. Bedding oarlock pads. The pads are oak, the inwales and gunwales are oak. All are epoxy coated. Should I just epoxy and glue the pads, or should I bed the pads in Dolfinite (as I will be doing with the oarlock sockets)?

2. I keep looking at the rudder and wonder what is going to keep it from popping out of the pintles. I bought the Shellback pintle/gudgeon system from WoodenBoat Store. There is not a lot of weight with this plywood rudder. I did not make it a kick up type. Various thoughts of putting lead in it, or using some type of stop to keep the gudgeons from floating free, are what are occuring at this moment.

I had hoped to get this in the water this summer, especially before my daughter's school consumed all available money this fall (still need sails and a trailer), but it doesn't look like it is going to happen....

Counting stitches here in Portland.

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

You will need as I did a "rudder stop". I got mine from somewhere like Hamilton Marine or somewhere. Until I installed it my kick up rudder made life interesting and contributed to my moniker (see above).

I would be skittering along in a placid state, not a worry in the world with my eyes focused on the middle distance, one hand on the tiller and the other with the sheet. One minute would drift into the next and in this dreamlike state I would imagine not having a mortgage, the family is as excited about building wooden boats as me and the tiller becoming light in my hand as I quartered off into the sunset. Then I realized the tiller WAS light in my hand!!!!

Snapping back into the present a glance over my shoulder confirmed that the rudder was (again) drifting away in my wake. ARGHH! A quick lunge to nab it only served to shove it away. Get out the oars, come about with sail flapping and my head between my knees to avoid the boom and get that #%$&**# rudder back into its place.

Yes, you will want a rudder stop... and no, you don't want to earn my moniker. :D

[Dave Gray]

Those are the feelings of bliss I was looking forward to - wife, teenage daughter, and the golden retreiver all looking forward to a day of sailing.

I somehow feel I'll be the only one on board as even the dog is a bit uncomfortable with tipping platforms.

Thanks for the tip. I'd heard of people cutting out plastic from milk bottles for stops but this seemed to, what shall we say, unyachty (but cheap!).

[Billy Bones]

Well I'm not sure I folla, but I used the hamilton marine pintle/gudgeon set, sawed a half inch off the top pintle so it wasn't impossible to put the rudder on while moving, and have had no problems. Is the WB hardware the same as the dyer hardware? If so it might be a bit light for the pooduck. Those have been known to break, as ingenious as they are.

If I'd have made my rudder fixed I'd have had lots of problems, maybe even catastrophic problems. As it is the boat has been wonderful for me, and not the least bit unfriendly in the caribbean sea where I sail her.

PS I bedded and screwed my pads and sockets in 5200. My that sounds positively debauched, doesn't it.

Good luck.

[ 08-15-2004, 01:49 PM: Message edited by: Billy Bones ]

[Steve McMahon]

I also used the Hamilton Marine parts. We have had no problem with the rudder going adrift or wanting to float up.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid128/pd581534f45d78daeaeb30651271e788a/f7e0e7e4.jpg

I used ash for my oarlock pads and epoxied them on. If I was using oak I would use a bedding compound for sure.

Good luck.

[Dave Gray]

Ah Billy, you are making me jealous! Eons ago I lived in Venezuela and spent some time on Bonaire and Saint Thomas. I've always aspired to being an affluent beach bum. :D :D

The bottom pintle has a bronze rod that goes through the upper pintle. The bottom gudgeon requires one to get the rudder hard over, remove the top, and twist to disengage. I'm not sure there will be a problem, as yet. It just seemed to me that the rudder would float up since it weighs next to nothing. Something to discover during sea trials, no doubt.

[Mike Dawson]

As Captain Pre-Capsize noted, you need a rudder stop. They were pretty much standard equipment on small boats back when "lighter than water" wood rudders were the norm. There was the spring type and the "L" type. West Marine and others still have the spring type. You can easily make the "L" type out of metal or wood. Just swing it out of the way when attaching or removing the rudder.

[DougWilde]

Your local hobby shop is a good place to find brass metal strips. Look for the display of brass stock. They coming in different gauges and widths, from 1/4" to 1". You're sure to find one of the right spring for your application. A foot cost less than a buck.

Doug Wilde

[Erick Singleman]

I used the ruder mounting hardware depicted in the book "How to build the Shellback Dinghy" and have had no problems whatsoever. I did make the rudder exactly as in the plans though, and I have to say that the kick-up rudder works like a charm. The weight of the upper part of the rudder and tiller outweighs any boyancy from the submerged part of the rudder. I am always sailing my boat right onto shore, and i never have a problem with the rudder. The centerboard is a different story, when I sail onto shore sometimes stones get jammed between the board and the box, and the CB becomes stuck. I had to drill an additional hole in the top of the CB box so that I could insert a stick that I call the "centerboard deployment rod". Be glad to sell you one for $19.99.

Also, If I had to do it over again, I'd put more lead in the centerboard, you see instead of pouring the lead, I used lead shot and epoxy; I increased the size of the rectangle to try to get the correct weight, but I think My CB gets pulled back a litte by the drag of the water at faster speeds. I tried keeping the CB deployment rod in during sailing, but man you should hear the strange noise that makes when it is vibrating in the CB box.

Anyway, I think you are going to love the Pooduck, I am glad I made it vise the Shellback, because I love the size, and the jib sail is a great help in tacking over, especially in rougher water.