Skerry Rudder attaching to stern?

Hello,

we have just started to build a Skerry from kit here in Munich Germany. We are still far from installing the rudder but from reading the manual we wonder where the screws of the gudgeons go to in the stern. It looks as if the screws of the upper gudgeon end up in the 6mm plywood. My question is how can 6mm plywood hold a gudgeon? Is the plywood reinforced at this place? Second question is from what I have seen in the plans the upper gudgeon is somehow below the back seat, which means the screws are going into floation chamber, is that the case? If thats the case one has to do any reinforcing before installing the seat.

Please let us know how you handled this issue. 

Thanks and regards,

Reinhard


4 replies:

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RE: Skerry Rudder attaching to stern?

If not described in the manual, I would epoxy some reinforcing plywood backing pieces to the inside of the planking, and install the gudgeons with through bolts, washers and nuts, rather than with screws. Using the drill-fill-drill method (see the Shop Tips) is also recommended for attaching fittings to epoxy-sealed plywood.

Old Yeller

RE: Skerry Rudder attaching to stern?

Reinhard,

I would second adding some backing material - you'll probably need to guess where (or just stretch it over a longer section of the stern as you don't measure for the rudder until after the seats are installed.  I didn't add any backing material and the screws went right into the rear flotation chamber.  The good news is that the marine sealant I used kept the water out, and in any case the holes are (mostly) above the water line. I have some pictures on my blog (mihaisboats.blogspot.com) where you can see the gudgeon.

I'm not sure how you would do a through-bolt, though, as you'd have to work inside the flotation chamber.  Simple wood screws seem to work quite well even after sailing for a bit in 20+ kt winds. 

Mihai

RE: Skerry Rudder attaching to stern?

Just to quickly add - in my case the gudgeon screws ended up about 2-3 cm underneath the seat. I suggest you reinforce that position (just use a 5-10cm plywood or hardwood 'patch' - you won't need more than about 5mm of extra thickness) at the same time as you install the seats.  If you do it earlier you won't know exactly where the seat goes and in the worst case your reinforcement will interfere with the shaping of the seat (which is a pain to start with).  I would fit the seat and install the patch at the same time as you spread the thickened epoxy on the hull to receive the seat.  That way the seat will be able to push the reinforcement down if necessary.

 

Mihai

RE: Skerry Rudder attaching to stern? And new questions!!!

Hi,

 

many thanks for your help. I will include some reinforcements as you suggested once  I know the position. We just have finished stitching the boat - first time we see a Skerry in real dimensions - it looks very nice and convincing.

At the stems the panels fit quite nicely into the gains so we wonder how we should get the glue in between.

Another topic is the alignment. The stern is perfectly perpendicular, the bow slightly tilds from top to bottom about 1cm. Frame 1 and 3 also are not totaly horizontal. Both slope in opposite direction about 5mm over the width of the boat. The center frame is perfectl horizontal. So the boat seems to have a slight twist. But what is slight and when should one start worrying?

Wonder if I should have started a new post. Anyway I welcome your ideas and help.

Thanks and all the best,


Reinhard

 

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