8.03.2011

Increased chord length


I realized the I had used the wrong profile template when shaping the rudders, so I needed to increase the chord length to improve the efficiency of the rudders ( I accidentally used the profile template that was intended for the dagger board rudders which was slightly rounded towards the lower ends).  A mix of micro balloons and epoxy molded to the trailing edge did the trick.  The good thing about keeping a nice messy shop is that you can always find stuff laying around to use to affect simple modifications......no need to stop work to go to the hardware store.  Seen here, I made a quick mold out of some vac tubing sheet rock screwed to a Formica covered picnic table from the pop up camper. 


The next step on the rudders will be to laminate the heck out of these things.  I plan on running Kevlar along the leading edge with multiple layers of triaxial glass and unidirectional glass running lengthwise over that to create what will essentially turn out to be cedar core composite rudders.


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