Upper Rudder Support Replacement

[Christian]

OK!

Now for the next can of worms!

I have this to deal with. A completely rotten rudder support on the port side.

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I read somewhere that the wood used was White Oak. Can anyone confirm this?

Cheers and thanks!

Christian

[jordan]

Christian,

White oak would be a great choice.

Jim

[yorklyn]

When I started my debacle, I mean renovation, I asked a similar question and white oak was the wood of choice. I was able to buy white oak flooring from home depot to meet most of my needs but it looks like you need something a little more substantial .
Could you go with fiberglass? I used a lot of structural fiberglass strips and sheets from McMaster Carr. Not sure if it would be àn option but thought I'd mention it

[Christian]

Thanks Jim &Todd,

The piece I need is 1 1/4" X 4" X 25". There is a specialty wood place close by. I will give them a call. Hopefully they will have some... I really should do both at the same time. Just to make sure. My concern with this little project is that these upper brackets are mounted on the extensions of the engine mounts. What are the chances that if this is rotten the engine mounts are as well, at least in that area...

Christian

[prowlersfish]

I used oak on mine .

[Christian]

Hi Guys!

I got to remove the upper support today! Not to difficult. I measured the angles of both rudders and supported them as well before removing them.

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As you can see, they were in bad shape...

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IMG_20150711_145238s.jpg (189.44 KiB) Viewed 11536 times

[Christian]

As a feared, I did open a can or worms! The aft portion of the wood supporting the rudders is rotten. The section supporting the engine mounts is OK but a few inched behind that, they are shot... Not sure what to do here.

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I am a bit surprised at the way it was built. It is a piece of wood sandwiched between the sheets of 1/4 plywood. not sure why this was done. Anyhow, I don't have a lot of options here. Either remove the engines and replace the complete kit on both sides or splice new pieces in-situe. or finally, beef up the sections with aluminum channels on both supports.

The support pictured above is the least rotten.

Any thoughts?

[bjanakos]

Where are your motors located that are worried about them? They should be under the salon decking which is 12' away from there. If you have the rear fuel tanks sitting there, you may have some problems.

This is a classic stringer repair. You can basically dig out the bad wood until you hit good wood, then go another couple of inches. Use a scarf joint and epoxy a new piece in there, then re-glass.

[todd brinkerhoff]

I second digging out all the rot, and then cpes the existing, and then fill with a scarfed piece or use some of Smith's building epoxy. You can certainly reinforce it with aluminum. And, FYI, you're doing a great job. I love to see Trojans brought back to life by capable people.

[Christian]

Thanks for the feedback guys! In my boat, the engines are located in the aft cabin under the beds. So to work on the stingners properly, I basically need to either pull the engines out or "slide" them in the walkway. Either is somewhat of a big job.

Todd,

Thanks for the compliment but I fear I am not worthy compared to the work others did....

Cheers!

Christian

[Barrie]

Yup, the Tri Flys have the engines in the rear under the bunks as Christian said.
Here's mine, currently :0

[Christian]

Barrie! You upgraded the access to your engines I see

Today, I went to Process Auto and got 2X2tonne trolleys for gantries. They were on sale I think I have sourced out I beams to put through the Windows, blocked on the outside walkways and slide the engines hanging from the trolleys (thanks Barrie). I guess I will do it right. Might as well... Next thread, engine removal followed by stringer replacement! Maybe...

Christian

[yorklyn]

Barrie and Christian,
Do yourself a favor and take a bunch of pictures of everything from different angles. I referenced old pictures quite a bit and wish I took more from various angles. also dont throw anything away until your finished, even the rotted stuff. I was told that before my renovation and ended up going back to quite a few pieces of "trash" for reference and measurements.
Just concentrate on one step at a time and you'll make it through it!
You both better keep posting the progress pictures for the rest of us to see!
Good luck Guys

[Barrie]

Barrie and Christian,
Do yourself a favor and take a bunch of pictures of everything from different angles. I referenced old pictures quite a bit and wish I took more from various angles. also dont throw anything away until your finished, even the rotted stuff. I was told that before my renovation and ended up going back to quite a few pieces of "trash" for reference and measurements.
Just concentrate on one step at a time and you'll make it through it!
You both better keep posting the progress pictures for the rest of us to see!
Good luck Guys

Thanks for the advice Yorklyn.
The project you just completed IS my inspiration!
I have reviewed your thread over and over, the quality and detail is my motivation

And, I have many,many pictures. I will start my own thread when I actually have accomplished something on the plus side.

Christian, you don't mess around. For what it's worth, I think you have a great plan. I will be a couple months behind you.

Barri

[Christian]

Todd,

Great idea keeping everything until the end. The problem with that is that I might end up with a complete "other" boat on the side I typically take pictures every step of the way. There is no such thing as too many pictures when doing stuff like that...

Cheers and thanks for all your support! It is appreciated I assure you.

Christian