Making A Canoe Rudder

November 7, 2014

I have been dubbing around for years now on making a rudder for my canoes.  My only successful one was and is for the Hogged Backed Saint, the Disco 158.  It has the perfect decks and no tanks to deal with to make this all work.

Now I have made several rudders out of wood but they all want to float to the surface of the water without some kind of line holding them into place.  I asked the Maintenance guys at work if they had any old signs that were destined for the metal pile.  In one day they had a nice aluminum stop sign for me.  Hell, I can get two rudders out of this sucker!

I have a Feathercraft rudder mount that I have rigged up to mount on my Disco so it was just a matter of milling out some wood and cutting the sign up to the dimensions I need. I used one of the existing rudders I had, way to long, as a template, to cut out the new one.  The sign is only thirty inches so that will have to do but if it isn't long enough I do have a way of extending it to get the length I need.  That will come later.

Way Too Long Rudder But Good Template

Using my skill saw and a new metal blade I cut out the new rudder.  It certainly is nice to have a good jigsaw with some power and power cord that isn't broken!  Cutting it out was quick and smooth!

The Cracks Are Surface Paint

Now, I am not a fan of working with metal, way to many slices on the fingers/palm in the past.  I think that is worse then a freaking paper cut!  I used my standard mincell and leftover belt sander belts to smooth over the edges of the cuts.  I used a forty grit which worked just about perfect!

Mincell and Old Belt From Belt Sander

Forty Grit

The main ingredient in this mix is the Feathercraft mount which I will refer to as the Thang for the rest of this write up.  I spent a lot of time and effort figuring how to attach this to my Disco a few years back and it does work nicely.  Jury rigged of course!  In this case I want to attach a tiller although I do have the Disco rigged for foot steerage if I care to go that route, I just figure the tiller is a much easier way to go and I already made one out of an aluminum rod.  In order to attach the tiller to the Feathercraft I needed to make an attachment of sorts, basically a piece of pine with holes drilled through it to bolt to the Feathercraft and the tiller.

Added Wood To Fit in the Thang!

The Two Empty Holes Are For the Tiller

Since the metal was to thin to mount in the Thang I needed to modify some wood pieces.  Using some left over ash I cut them to the shape I needed and then planned them down to the thickness I needed to fit.

Piece of Ash

Cut Out

Adds A Couple Of Inches

The ash has that shape to fit where the hull sticks out.  It is a tight fit and a later picture should explain it.  For now though I put them in my vice and sanded them with my belt sander to get a uniform edge.  Next I decided to adhere them to the metal I would use G-Flex and will later drill through and add some bolts and nuts, it is too wide to use rivets.  I figured this would be the easy part but NOOOOOOO.  I applied the G-Flex laying it on fairly thick but when it came time for clamping the wood pieces in place and trying to match them up it was slippery then snot on a cold day and the two pieces kept moving around like fish on ice!  I was getting pretty pissed off and words that the neighbors didn't want to hear went flying through the air!  Damn, it really shouldn't be this hard!

G-Flex Gobbed On Both Sides

 In hindsight I should have done one side at a time but I am quite frequently not one to take those long steps.  Knowing how long I can work with this resin I took a breath and visited a can of liquid courage and jockeyed them so they were even with each other.  I took a piece of thick paper and folded it over several times to fill the gap between the pieces of wood on the upper reach.  I will have to fill that later with something!

Clampage In Place

Another View

More Clamps

I am going to let this sit for a day or two and then I will have to fill that gap, drill for the bolt and nut that holds it into the Thang and then do some painting and spar on the wood. 

More To Come.

November 9, 2014

This morning I knocked the wood on the rudder around some and I'm confident that the G-Flex setup is secure.  I do want to put a couple of bolts through to really secure the wood to the metal but that can come down the road.  That is a high stress point and will need, IMO, some reinforcement.  In the meantime I did a dry fit on the hull with the whole assembly and it came out just about perfect.  I may have to sand a couple of hairs off but that will take a second.

Just so you can get a visual on this setup I'm including these next set of pictures.  A very easy setup and breakdown and should all store in a bag when not in use.  The tiller will just be laid on the floor of the canoe when not in use like the leeboard.

Rudder attached to the Feathercraft Mount

The Pin Fits into an Aluminum Tube Mounted on the Deck of the Canoe

I'm Using Wingnuts on the Tiller

Another View

A Full View

Foam on the End Where You Grip It.

I decided to paint it yellow with black strips.  I masked off the strips on both side of the rudder with masking tape and then cut several strips the width of the masking tape out of some left over metal.  I am going to rivet and G-Flex these on at diagonals to add a little bit of strength as I think this metal is just a tad to thin and will vibrate like hell.  I had one leeboard that did that and it drove me nuts when I was hauling ass down a lake.

Nice and Bright!

Reinforcement Strip to be Riveted and Glued In

Rustolem Spray Paint

I am literally watching paint dry so I can move on to the next step of adding my black paint and the metal strips.  I will be drilling through the rudder to add one last thing, a rope or a bungee cord to pull it out of the water as I come to shore.  I do have a plan for that as well.  Very simple, KISS is the theme on these canoe modifications!

More To Come.

November 9-11

Waiting for paint to dry is a nasty job.  Twiddling thumbs is not a virtue of mine.  I spent a lot of time masking off tape for the design I thought I wanted and then did the black paint.  I just wasn't sure!

Taping it Out

H

Another View

I hung it to dry for the night and the next day I flipped it over and did the other side.  Of course on both sides the paint bleed through some but if I even care to fix it is easy to do, hell, it's a damned rudder and it is going to get used hard so the paint will wear off.  Hmm, how hard would it be to build a carbon fiber one?  So when the paint job was done and still drying I'm wondering about the colors.

Using a Halogen Light for Drying

Hmm, Not Sure

Looks Like a Bumblebee!

Now here is one thing I learned from this project because I don't usually paint, I'm going to go with enamel paint next time.  I had to bring this in after painting and put it next to a heater to fully dry and it is not all that tough. 

Not real happy with what I did with the colors and may change it but it sure sticks out like a sore thumb!  Kinda what I had in mind but if I keep it at least it will be behind me where I can't see the sucker!  I may do so other stuff to it, going to mull this one over for a bit and consult a can of liquid courage!

More To Come.

The Second Mad River Courier

August 23, 2014

I had known about this Courier for a couple of years and sat back and did nothing.  With the demise of Royalex I decided it was time to take the plunge and buy it even though I have one already.  It is such a nice whitewater boat I couldn't pass it up.

Being an eighty-four it has its share of ding's and scars and especially being a Demo you can imagine the nicks and dings.  Nothing as bad as the Colander!  With aluminum gunwales I don't have to do much work except turn it into a solo by moving the seat, taking out the extra seat and refurbishing the carry thwart if I care to even keep it which I probably won't.

The next step is to pull out the Colander and compare it to this hull, two different years so who knows what changes went on.  All the dimensions call it a Courier!

August 27, 2014

So today I decided it was time to clean up the hull.  It had laid on a makeshift platform in the open for a long while and again another hull with enough grit and dirt to grow a few seeds on.  Once again I decided to use a vinegar and water mix. Damn, how that just cuts through all the crap with one cleaning!

Fresh off the Rack in VT

Paddling up the Pond

It really cleaned up to a pretty good shine for a boat of this age and I was pretty happy, sweet!

Dirty enough to grow something on!

Half way cleaned.  Now the dings are showing.

I still have to clean the interior but that can wait.  I decided to take out a seat just for shits and grins.  Holy Crap!  Some freaking idiot decided to wrap each bolt with surgical tape to protect it from the elements I guess!  I just don't freaking get it, why would one do such a stupid thing?  I tried to cut the tape off but the residue from the tape left a black mess that gummed up the threads of the nut I was trying to get off.  Oh man, what a struggle.  Also, I guess it was the theme at that age in time but carriage bolts for seat hangers?  I had to use needle nose vice grips and two wrenches to get the thing off.

There's something real smart, tape on a threaded bolt!

What a freaking gummed up mess!

I got one seat off and called it quits.  There is still some work to do on the gunwales as well.  Don't know exactly what I'm going to do with those.

More To Come.

August 28, 2014

I wanted to take the second seat out so I could see if I could reuse it in a new position on the hull turning it into a solo.  Stupid tape on threads!  Took me about forty-five minutes cause the tape was thick on these!  I do believe that I can salvage this seat and if I am correct about my measurements it should fit to where I want it at about 68" from the stern of the boat.

Of course I'm going to have to strip them down, re-varnish, and then put webbing in.  As usual I will lay a thin layer of resin on the ends to prevent rot.

I was interested to see how this hull compared to the Colander so I pulled it out and put them side by side.  To my bespectacled eyes there was something a little off on the way the ends of the hull lined up.  The Second Courier looks like the bow has a longer sweep to it.  I spent time doing measurements.

Since the rebuild of my house prevents me from laying the on the flat surface of the driveway I had to rely on the lawn so I know some measurements are a tad off.  In the end the Colander is 14' 6" x 32" wide x 14. 5" deep.  The Second Courier is 14' 7" x 32.5 x 15.5" deep.  The new is an 1985 and the old is an 86.  Not sure how the dimensions are so off but I am thinking that the New has been modified in the past.

So seat work, some rivet work and then milling out some thwarts.

More to Come!

August 31, 2014

Today I thought I'd pull the crappy seating off the seat and start sanding it down.  I am pretty convinced I can reuse it.  Now I have seen a lot of canoe seats in my time but never with this kind of material.

What is real funky is the way it was also sewn in.  Very interesting but I'll bet sags like a bugger!

Spent a while pulling staples and they were in there good.  Took a lot of effort to get them all out!

Once I had the material off I put the seat in my vice and got out my sander.  Holy Crap!  The seat started dancing like an erotic dancer as all of the joints were loose as hell!  I was really good!  I didn't swear or throw anything or scream like the devil.  I calmly took it out of the vice and stored it away with all of the other junk seats I have knowing I'll use it for a picture frame down the road.  Hell, I didn't even take any pictures it was so discouraging!  So, now I have to go buy a new seat for thirty-three dollars from the canoe shop I can't stand to use but is local.  That freaking guy still owes me a paddle but that is a whole different story!

More to Come.

September 12, 2014

I needed a new seat and ended up buying a contour seat made by Ed's and then decided to mill out my own thwart.  I am laying out this Courier just the same as the Colander as I know all will work just fine.  I planned down a thick piece of ash that was about four feet in length so I can make some new parts down the road.

Rough Cut

Down to 3/4 inch and smooth as hell!

I needed a thwart that was about thirty inches long but needed to shape it.  I took a piece of cardboard and traced the thwart on the Colander, cut it out and traced it onto my new board.  From there it was an easy task of cutting out the thwart from the raw wood. 

It took a bit of sanding but I got the edges knocked down and rounded over.  I was pleased with it all enough to say it was time to start the poly process.  After making some measurements and making the end cuts I started with a thin layer of Spar Varnish.

Cutting to fit the hull

Hanging on the Rack!

Three more coats of varnish should see done.  Next is drilling holes and mounting it on the hull.

More To Come.

September 14-19, 2014

I ended up buying an Ed's Contour seat as a replacement.  I've never tried one of these but thought what the hell!  Now, I've mounted quite a few seats but I have never had as many problems as I did with this hull.  For some reason I thought the gunwales had aluminum inserts but noooo, just vinyl and to top it off the space on the bottom of the gunwales was less then an inch wide so there was almost no room for mistakes. I think you can read between the lines!

Now here is one of my pet peeves!  Why in the hell are carriage bolts allowed to be used in boat building?  They are large, leave big holes and nine times out of ten are rusted on!  I had a heck of a time getting the nuts off and on one I ended up having to get my hack saw blade out and forty minutes later and a can of liquid courage found it in the garbage can!

Vice Grips and a wrench didn't work!

Tried and tested method.  Had to cut through the bolt!

All that work for this!

This one broke right off!

Rusted and rotten!  I hate carriage bolts!

Next I placed the seat where I wanted it as I was soloizing this hull like my other Courier.  My new method is to place it on top of the gunwales and then drill the holes.  Now as I mentioned there was not a lot of wiggle room on the gunwales and of course on the first drilling I messed up!  I creased the side of the gunwale leaving a nice gap as my hole was off just enough!  Lots of swearing ensued!

Damn It!

I ended up filling the hole in the seat with G-Flex and walked away in disgust!  The next day I re-drilled the hole to the correct space and then started on drilling and cutting new hangers.  That of course went badly, I guess it was one of those weeks!

G-Flex filled hole

Drilling out the new hole.  G-Flex curls!

I tried out a set of hangers from the Adventure Canoe but they were way too low to use so I ended up cutting down the old ones which were in fair shape and used those.  I'm not happy with those though!

Hangers from the Adventure Canoe

Way to low to use.

Old hangers cutting to size

I love my pullsaw!

Finally I got the seat in but was truly unhappy with how much flex the hull had!  I know I can stiffen it up by adding a couple more thwarts but that is something I don't want in this boat!  I threw in the towel and decided to rack the boat for the winter and re-gunwale it in the spring with wood gunwales!

More To Come.

September 20, 2014

Sometimes walking away brings some results.  I decided that I still do need wood gunwales but it will have to wait.  I needed to stiffen up those lousy vinyl gunwales so I milled out another thwart despite the fact that I don't really want it but will need it to get this hull on water!  It took about an hour to cut it out, round over the edges and sand it before coating it with the first layer of spar varnish.  It should help out quite a bit and I plan on put a small one behind the seat as well. 

More To Come.