Tuesday, February 12, 2008

We Can Make It Better, Faster, Stronger


Installed one of Andy's old rudder cages from his Gemini Floridaze. I'm waiting to install the other until I test this one out. As we all know, it usually takes me at least two tries to get a repair right. But the installation went smoother than expected, and the rudder looks pretty stable for the time being. There are some issues which remain, mostly stemming from the fact that my fittings and push rods are not in the same location as on newer Geminis. I also need to replace the connecting rod which is bent and corroded. There's a store in St. Augustine that I've heard is pretty cool. Maybe I can pick up some useful parts there.

Old busted rudder cage which soon will be heading to the dump:

6 comments:

Amy said...

So pretty!

NautiG said...

So right.

Just added a photo of the old, busted cage.

Anonymous said...

Scott,
Hang on to your anchor! There's some wicked weather coming your way. Tornado touched down in Cocoa Beach this afternoon. Made a mess, but no one was injured. Put your radio on weather. Stay safe.
Carla

PS, congrats on the rudder/cage, looks awesome.

NautiG said...

Thanks Carla,

Looks like a lot of weather coming tonight. Things are calm right now. And I'm in a pretty good spot, as long as winds are southerly.

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed with your new rudder cages. Make sure you have all connecting parts strong and trustworthy. This should be the permanent repair you need for seaworthiness. Your Blog is very interesting and I read it daily.

NautiG said...

Thanks Peter. One of the reasons the connecting rod got bent was that it is long and connected to just two boat fittings. The newer Geminis have two short rods, which are each connected to two fittings. I doubt that two short rods with four fittings would bend nearly as easily as the long rod with two fittings, so I am on the lookout for a couple more fitting, as well as a new rod or two.