24 Aug 2012. Made a start on the running gear, mainly rudders. The official method is to fit the propshafts, A-frames, Kort nozzles, rudder skegs and the rudder posts first; then glue the two halves of each rudder onto the post. However, as the skeg is firmly attached to the propshaft this effectively makes the rudders a permanent fixture with major surgery needed to get them and the posts out again.

I much prefer to have moving parts of my models accessible and serviceable if at all possible, so I decided to modify the installation a bit. What I have done is to epoxy glue the two halves of the rudders together off the posts. After cleaning up I have then drilled the through holes 4mm to match the posts which are a snug fit. This picture shows this stage with one rudder/post inserted in its skeg. If mounted on the boat it will now be possible to withdraw the post down through the skeg, thus leaving the rudder free to remove. But of course turning the post won't turn the rudder.