| Circe
| Thursday, September 10, 2009 I continued work in the cockpit, beginning with the usual round of sanding the latest application of filler from yesterday. This round wrapped up most of the major fairing work in the cockpit, other than a fine final fair which I'd do later in the day. The large patch over the old lazarette opening at the aft end of the cockpit would require additional work, as anticipated. |
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Before continuing in that vein, however, I decided the time had come to extend the rudder tube up through the poop deck, since we'd decided to locate the tiller there. To do this, I also had to create some new access to the lazarette, so I laid out an opening in the poop deck for the new hatch and cut it out. |
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Next, I used a long broom handle to simulate the rudder post, and marked its contact point with the aft cockpit bulkhead. I drilled a hole here to accommodate the new rudder tube, and then inserted the broom handle the rest of the way through till it contacted the underside of the poop deck; by looking beneath the deck through my new lazarette hatch, I could reference the location from above, after which I drilled a hole in the deck. With a length of 1-1/2" ID fiberglass tubing at hand, I fine-tuned the newly-drilled holes as needed to allow me to insert the tube from above and mate with the existing tube at the cockpit sole. I had to slightly elongate the holes to allow the tube to fit. To align the new section with the old, I used a short section of smaller fiberglass tube that fit inside the larger tubes. |
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I marked the tube several inches longer than it ultimately needed to be (for final trimming later), sanded the exterior of the tube to remove the smooth manufactured surface (and sanded the inside of the tube at the lower, mating end to the extent possible). I ground out areas around the holes in the deck and bulkhead to accept fiberglass tabbing, sanded the mating surfaces on the inside of the lazarette locker, and prepared to permanently install the tube. I epoxied the short length of 1-1/2" OD tubing in place in the lower, existing rudder tube, and then installed the extension over the remaining portion of the insert tube with additional epoxy. Then, I wrapped fiberglass around this joint from the outside, and tabbed the tube in place on the inside and outside of the two holes through the aft end of the cockpit, with two overlapping layers on each side. |
 
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While I waited for that to partially cure, I prepared a batch of fine fairing compound, and treated the other patched/filled areas as needed to fill pinholes and any small remaining low spots. |
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Finally, I applied a coat of epoxy fairing compound to the patched lazarette opening, and around the new, partially-cured fiberglass tabbing securing the rudder tube extension. The lower part of the tube would eventually be hidden from view by a cosmetic cover, but the area still required fairing and a smooth appearance. |
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