the 1/2" mahogany blocks placed under the rudder ports have split and need replacing. My complete steering system is old, still working but in need of maintenance and renewal. My boat is on the hard so now is the time.
I am hoping someone has done this. I was going to make a backing plate out of HDPE material but cannot find a bonding material that is recommended. My next choice would be teak block encapsulated in West System and sealed in Siflex.
I would appreciate a shout out from experience! any particular pit falls when disassembling?
I have included a photo's of the project at hand. Thanks.
view looking down on steering post with backing plate under the bronze steering port.
Do some research on Sapele. It is a good replacement for Mahogany and if it rots it wont be in this lifetime. The muffler stands I built for a project used this after a local woodworker educated me. Hope this helps you!
Lee, thanks for the confirmation. I have a friend, master carpenter, who I just shared my frustration with. He went into his shop and pulled out a 2 x6 piece of Sapele and said that he would cut it down for me to fit and that I would never have to think about it again. With the difficulty of finding teak, he told me that he has using Sapele for several years, building wood windows from historic and older homes.
@Whitney Pillsbury guess what project used sapele? 😎
Even better than solid mahogany (or any solid lumber ) would be sapele or meranti bs1088 plywood as it won't split like hardwood.
While your doing that this is the best time to have your rudders cleaned up, inspected and straightened I needed.
When you reinstall becsure to replace the silicon bronze thru bolts as they do get brittle over time.
Great advice! Sapele is what we will be using. Sealed with West System Epoxy. Thanks.