[Public-List] Rudder Shoe Project Progress

[Peter McEvoy]

Hi Everybody,

Pete McEvoy here with an update on my progress casting the new rudder
shoes. It has been slow going- my apologies- but I've been busy with other
boat projects, jobs, life etc. I've been savoring this project though, and
it is coming along well. I've now got a two-part plaster mold made of an
original, unused rudder shoe (provided courtesy of Mike Lehman) and a few
copies of said original, cast in Hydrocal white. Hydrocal white is a hard
plaster with virtually zero shrinkage. The purpose of this is to have
inexpensive, accurate copies of the original.

I've uploaded photos of the moldmaking process so you guys can see how the
mold was made. It is a simple two-part mold. Feel free to ask any questions
if you'd like to know more about this. You can find the photos here:

.Anyhow, the exciting news is that within the next two weeks we should be
casting a test batch of 4-6 rudder shoes. We will be doing sand casting,
which will keep costs way down. So *right now, I am looking for folks
interested in having one of the shoes from this first batch*.The shoes will
come out of the casting with no holes drilled, and no pintle hole drilled.
That means you will have to do that part yourself. Let me know if you'd
prefer a pre-drilled pintle hole and I'll go ahead and do that. Right now
I'm more focused on keeping costs down for you all which means a bit more
DIY.

The cost should be less than $100 at the most, and could be significantly
cheaper. I'm not factoring in my own time here since this is a fun project,
and the cost will mostly be based off the price of bronze and propane for
running the furnace. Are there any interested parties? First come, first
served!

Here's the link to the mold photos:
http://s1164.photobucket.com/albums/q574/petexii/