Sail Life - Finishing Athena’s new rudder & making rudder bushings - DIY sailboat repair

[@drwindsurf]

Cost of the new rudder = 1370, Cost of learning how to make a rudder = Priceless. Thank you for another amazing video Mads :)

[@nicktaylor867]

Came across Sail Life a couple of days ago. I'm hooked and am doing a huge chunk of binge watching. Brilliant. Wonder how long it will take me to get up to date. Just as well I'm retired😂

[@mattevans-koch9353]

Mads, That rudder should be on display in a museum. With the copper coat it looks like a piece of art. Great work. Have a good week and looking forward to seeing you get back aboard Athena.

[@victornordin2559]

Dear Mads, you are the one and only reason that convinced me to grab life by its neck and take a sailing course. Booked. Reason being that I thought getting into marine life would be very costly here in Scandinavia - Sweden, and that owning a boat meant only sailing in the summer. You showed me a different way and your persistence is highly motivating.Thank you! And keep the videos coming.

[@lfconley]

Top 5 things you’re going to miss when Athena splashes. 5) opening packages with your knife. 4) working on solid ground. 3) storage. 2) epoxy. 1) glorious glorious sanding!

[@iainlyall6475]

nah! he'll still be able to do all those things in a few years.

[@corujariousa]

Definitely the "glorious glorious sanding!" :-)

[@rickczainski9856]

As a machinist, I can say you did very well with that Russian monster. Nicely done.

[@notsunkyet]

Loved your introduction of Crazy Ivan. Hilarious!

[@DFMurray]

That was a trippy time lapse. Took me a few seconds to realize that the primer changes colors from green to red.

[@rcpmac]

Mads , you inspired me to dig into a long neglected fiberglass repair project an old double kayak in need of repair on the too often grounded keel. Having watched countless videos of your work it was a piece of cake! Best tip? Spend the $20 on a laminate roller do hickey, it really helped the glassing around the curves. Thanks!!!

[@ianlangley987]

Hi ? Well done with your rudder project. I am writing this from down under in New Zealand and as an ex yachtie I know what you are going through with your total project. I built a 9.5 lotus yacht and it took 3 years before she hit the water. I am a time served machinist and for you to get the rudder bushing correct I suggest that you rough out, leaving enough to hold in a four jaw chuck, then split it and true up the mating faces after which you set up in the four jaw chuck and complete the turning operation. Once parted off you will get 2 true half's and when clamped in the housing will not jam on the bore. A little tip, when setting up in the four jaw chuck make sure the split line between both half's are on centre. Keep up the good work and if I was closer I would offer some assistance. Cheers Ian Langley.

[@williamhoskins7818]

WOW, ! I would never have imagined it would take what to build..massive amounts of planning, and labour. Cant imagine what the yard would charge ! Suffice to say, you've saved your self a wee bit of cash. PLUS . You know it built absolutely perfect..thanks mads . Namaste

[@derekwilkinson7939]

I’ve been binge watching your videos,not in chronological order I might add,anyway I can’t find the video of you fitting the new diesel tank. Love these videos by the way.

[@brice5542]

Great job, been watching for a while now. As a fellow owner of a good ole boat, 37 Ft. Tayana Pilot House, my hats off to you for all the hard work. IMHO it's so much more,,, A Zen kinda thing when it's your own boat, great therapy, and a bit of pride knowing the job was done right. Your adventures should be required watching when people look at a boat and say to themselves, she just needs a little bit of work to get her going... Again thanks for the updates, your one of the few who actually do it,,, and do it right. Cheers

[@bryanwatt9751]

Amazing how you just go ahead and learn new stuff!

[@normanboyes4983]

Mads - more comments from me tonight.😳 1. Congratulations on completing the rudder assembly - an absolutely first class job in all respects. It not only looks good but I am sure it will give many years of dependable service. 2. Well done with the work on the crazy Ivan - you did very well as a novice. If I may make a few suggestions. 3. When making a bush - it is always useful to make a mandrel first which of course is the same diameter as the rudder shaft. This makes life much easier when you are boring out and getting near to size. As you may have discovered even with a small cut set the tool springs and you will remove material if you send the tool through again. The mandrel enables you to creep up on the required ‘fit’. 4 For a split bush application it would be better to rough the component out oversize then split the material , clamp back together and finish to size. 5. If Crazy Ivan came with a 4 jaw chuck - learn how to use it is far superior to a three jaw scroll chuck. 6. Making these bushes yourself is a great learning exercise. Making two sets helps consolidate the knowledge and furnishes a spare set.😂 7. Finally, hopefully you have the drawings detail to determine the required clearance - it is important it is not too tight and of course as you mentioned the bush will ‘swell’.

[@SWFFS]

Hello Mads, two weeks ago I stumbled over your KZbin channel on your refit of Athena. After just a few videos my girlfriend joined me in watching your videos and within one week we binge-watched all of last years videos (starting with the removal of the rudder). Having to wait one full week for the next video for the first time was very hard, but as always we really enjoyed it. We just wanted to let you know that we will keep looking forward to new videos from you! Greetings from Germany, Lisa and Eric

[@Fr99763]

All this knowledge, skill, precision and technology and finally nothing outshines the “measuring-dohicky” 😚😜

[@chuckscheaffer4694]

Just want thank you for spending the time and effort to video the rudder build. The explanation and picture quality is very professional and entertaining. Your work should provide a great resource for hundreds of other DYI'ers years to come.

[@andrewhughes6599]

I keep thinking about what will happen to Athena's rudder. Mads' and Eva's great grandchildren will have it on a stand, theorizing about where the rest of the boat is. We really are seeing the ultimate rudder! Oh, and by the way, Copper Coat has an "R" in it, preferably rrrrolled, especially in Scotland whence came Athena :-)

[@craigleemehan]

All this and now a lathe. It is amazing your willingness to jump in and learn new things.

[@Riptides99]

Something to remember is to account for material loss when you split the bushing in half. The two halves could have been faced on a sander to get the internal diameter, but you would have lost the overall outside diameter a little bit as well.

[@iamblaineful]

A beautiful job at a fraction of the price of having one built for you, plus you learned an enormous amount, and I learned a little bit too. Priceless.

[@gregeconomeier1476]

Regarding the failed part. Maybe you could put a sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface and sand the flat surfaces of the failed part until they fit snug around the shaft.

[@gregmirr]

With the new rudder Athena will come about in a tack so fast you'll need seat belts , great job as usual skipper

[@jerryf609]

Extremely nice rudder. Will be watching to see what else you use the lathe for.

[@bodhi47]

Beautiful rudder. Well done.

[@DMF351]

Love your work. You are a true professional.

[@billkaroly]

That is one spiffy looking rudder!

[@wallacegrommet9343]

How about a greatest hits of glorious, glorious sanding!

[@larrywills5690]

Nice work on the new machine...using something for the first time , not bad at all.

[@robertorzech2466]

OMG that project is soooo good. I love how high you set the bar on your workmanship. Keep up the fantastic recreation ! Cheers !

[@DonHarden]

Wish I was close by, I could help you with using the Lathe. I say that but it didn't look like you needed any help. You did a great job. I am a Gunsmith and part of the schooling for the program is about 3 years of Lathe classes. Turning barrels, Threading barrels, making screws and springs and Oh Yea! making a full set of barrel bushings. The barrel bushings are also split in half but here is the Kicker most are also Tapered on the inside. That brings about a whole new process of lathe turning.

[@RobFomenko]

Pretty awesome those bushings. Yeah you messed up the first one, but its a learning experience so well worth it. Great to have a lath just hanging around! Rudder looks spectacular! But not surprising from you. Price seems well worth it.

[@mitfreundlichengrussen1234]

Great! Lets watch gras grow again... - big thx to the master gardener. (RIP Peter Sellers)

[@mxf2812]

Good choice on the Delrin Mads 👍

[@bill4nier]

Can't believe how fast 20 minutes goes by watching your videos! BTW, that's one spiffy looking rudder, hope Crazy Ivan serves you well. Thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍👍👍👍😊⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵⛵

[@mortarsquad12]

I just binged everything. Perfect timing

[@glenn5ft19]

Mads, when boring or turning on the lathe. Just bore out the first 5 mm to dia. And take note of the reading on the crosslide micrometer dial. If you over shoot it you can face that part off and all is not lost.

[@thepigwillfly5869]

Funny comments about the Soviet lathe....crazy Ivan indeed!! I live in Moscow and could probably find some spare parts for that baby at Izmailovo Market.

[@kurtarmbrust]

Spare gears always come in handy.

[@tallbikercat]

When you make your split bushing, split the POM before machining...otherwise when you cut it, the removal of the kerf material from the cut will then render your piece not round anymore. Your cut will remove material, and when you place the two cut faces back together, the inner hole and the outer round profile will no longer be round.

[@bartonrobinson4266]

Never take an error as a loss, it's another lesson learned, specially when the error was just time involved if the part was a freebee..Enjoying a lot the refit/rebuild or Athena and look forward to continued works, yea, even the Little Bit of Sanding..lol..stay your coarse, it's looking really good !

[@brucekratky7993]

That is one cool rudder. Your sailboat will tack, track, and jibe perfectly, on command, and in a heartbeat. Nice.

[@corujariousa]

Working with that lathe has to be fun. The possibilities are enormous... A pity you overshot on the trimming but that is how learning usually works. Thanks for another video!

[@mk1photography62]

I did my engineering apprenticeship on a lathe just like that!

[@rockystyer2136]

Really great watching the process from start to finish on the rudder!

[@marcorodriguez4959]

Lathe sounds great.... Rudder looks spiffy.... great job!

[@billiondollardan]

That delron cuts beautifully. I mean the finish after a single pass was perfect

[@chuckhanson8784]

This has been a wonderful DYI project. You seemed to have learned a lot and have ended up with a great rudder. One nagging thing on my mind; since they moved the boat, will you now have to dig a new hole to reinstall the rudder? If so you can add "glorious hole digging" to your things to do. Great job!

[@rogerhiggins6599]

GREAT JOB ever thought of filling stringers on boat with pvc foaqm then glass on just the top.

[@SVWildHare]

Although it seems like most newer boots don't have it my 1985 Islander 38c has grease zerk fittings on the rudder post. If you haven't made too much progress on this I would definitely recommend grease fittings.

[@NameNaameNameeNaamee]

Man that rudder looks awsome! Well done indeed! :)

[@jakubstrama]

Mads has got to be the best over-engineer there is. 1:23

[@EricEversonArtAndDesign]

Nice result! Well done!

[@0331FranklinebHolt]

Congrats on your new rudder. I am not a professional, although I was a little worried watching you operate the lathe without Tucking in your t-shirt. To me it seems excessively dangerous, but like I said I am a hobbiest machinist. Thank you for the great videos and keep up the Safe work. Have a great amount of fun. Now just to be picky you failed to add the cost of your time in the amount of your pretty dang spiffy new rudder.

[@ThePorridgeGobbler]

I am a Professional and this guy is a health and safety hazard with his attitude to safety in the public eye on here, thank heavens he is not in a teaching role in my hangar because he would have been booted out long ago, I don't give a damn what he does to himself but there are a lot of diy'ers on here that accept his trade practices as the norm.

[@gkblair]

That rudder may just be the spiffiest thing I've ever seen :)

[@carolinabeacher1558]

its fun to watch these videos, i get to see what its like watching me do everything myself :) learning is a great way to spend time, especially hands on.

[@Lostmissionary]

God I love watching this guy work.

[@normanboyes4983]

😀👍 Always good to get a Sail Life vid to watch.😀👍⛵️

[@henrymorgan3982]

Rudder came out great. Good job!

[@latitudeash]

Wow for a first time laith turning you did very well. I have done it at school in metal shop and it is hard to get the dimensions right. Slow and steady at the final few cuts is the trick. A sharp cutting tool is also a must.

[@stevecoster322]

Hiya, a fantastic video as always, thank you. What a perfect rudder, fair winds too you all...

[@danielscott9769]

The piece you screwed up, try sanding the flat area where you cut it in half. That might close the gap enough to be acceptable.

[@blackquintet]

The diameter was too big before cutting the bushing in half. If it had been the right size before cutting, it would have been too small after, at least in one direction, because of the width of the saw blade. As someone else said, the cut should be made before using the lathe. Otherwise, the diameter would be wrong after the cut. And by the way, sanding the flat area after the cut would only result in an (even more) oval bushing. Not ideal!

[@ruperthartop7202]

Getting there. Well done. Thanks for sharing

[@craigmunday3707]

Short sleeves on a lathe 👍

[@ronaldwarren5220]

A true artist

[@MrCrabbing]

Good news smart rudder too, I remember sanding the inside of my 30 foot fishing boat to fit 22 new structural members to each side oh and new bulkheads and stringers, great job

[@aserta]

When you're new on a lathe, don't bother with measuring IDs. You take the wood lathe approach and make yourself a GO-NO GO gauge and test it. You test with the no go until you reach the "sweet spot" and then take fractions of a mm whilst testing with the go gauge. The NO Go's diameter should always be a 1.5 mm wider than the hole you're going for. Also, periodically clean your chips, even if they are plastic. You have to train yourself.

[@DavidIanDehli]

Just Wait to you have to do this one more time in Mandelo ;)

[@GTyoutube]

Bloody marvellous

[@ocxb]

Looking like new!

[@wilber504]

Awesome, as always.

[@stephenrankin2078]

That rudder is so sharp it should be in the New York Museum of Modern Art

[@danieloliver20]

Remember comrade, vodka with every meal! Good luck pulling a PDF manual off the net for the lathe, btw I'm jealous!

[@Asteroid828]

$1370 about £1076 is a fair price. However add 40 hours labour at professional rates and I believe that rudder works out at about £3676 or $4681. We all know we are doing this for love!

[@craigs5212]

Super job it really looks nice. I'll bet you will find the rudder project was a lot more fun than fixing the under floor structure. Will be interesting to see how that goes. Have fun stay safe.

[@chiltonpr1]

Woopping success !!! Love it ! Thanks for sharing all this experiences with us ! Love you channel !

[@InventorGadget]

Haa! The smoother the surface the happyer Mads :D

[@klif_n]

Awesome vid. I would love to play with a lathe.

[@jerrywright4938]

Nice job on the rudder, looks so good. Lathe skills need practice, but for the first time on the lathe. Your work turned out very nice.

[@tigersharkzh]

Delrin/POM is deffo a great choice for that part and it's super easy to mill/lathe.

[@frehau]

Mads, before you settle on new spiffy bushings, have you checked if Jefa carries needle bearings that suites your application? Even spiffyer... Thanks for a great channel!

[@vasilyru]

This rudder will outlive the boat... ]

[@donrumph1]

Mads, to err is human, to persevere is part of learning. Someone once said that we only lean from our mistakes. Beautiful rudder. Carry on with pride.

[@TheSailingBrothers]

Really enjoyed the video of thank you very much for making it

[@chaosopher23]

I am pretty good on a lathe but I'm not good with boring bars. Instead, I prefer reamers. They're more expensive, but they do last forever with plastics & your typical marine metals. Reamers are also devices that give you a hole with a tolerance of about +/-0,01mm or closer.

[@gregoryyount6907]

Good job on the rudder. You should (justifiably) be proud.

[@verynearlyaboutsailing8114]

Simply fantastic! Which reminds me, I must get round to making some new rudder bushes - the reason I took my rudder off in the first place Having a boat is such fun ;)

[@BaronWeber1]

Thank you.

[@irgski]

Another great video Mads. You’re making good progress and learning in the process. A suggestion - before you attach the sanding pad to the sander, either tip the pad (grit id side) towards the camera or mention the grit number of the pad.

[@ConstantijnC]

Thats an awesome lathe you got there!

[@tizwicky]

Another awesome video! Your Cold War Russian lathe is very scary. I’m a ME who has extensive experience making prototype parts that I’ve designed in CAD and then milled with CNC mills and CNC lathes and what you did was pretty awesome. What is your background in machining? You make everything look easier than it actually is. Nice work!

[@ianward3278]

you are very inspiring

[@terrybaker8349]

Yes, rough machine the bearing oversized, then split before final machining. This ensures external and most importantly the internal bores are both the correct diameter and concentric.

[@bertfromnz9069]

Hi Mads - one piece of advice - never leave the chuck key in the chuck -always take it out even for a second, my military training(RNZAF) -if we took our hand off the chuck key, and it was in the chuck , we had to run around the hanger with a heavy oversized key - stuck with me for life and I still cringe when I see a key in a chuck 40 years later!

[@SailLife]

I've already figured out why that is a good piece of advice 😉 I didn't get hurt and nothing broke but still not a fun experience 🙂

[@michaelbottai9983]

Good progress on the rudder. Cutting bearings on a lathe is always fun and I usually add 50% raw stock as I have been guilty of the same mistakes when trying to hurry to avoid machinery down time. Splash date is ahead and miles of glass to lay up. Looking forward to your next video. Fair winds and calm seas.

[@austin_8154]

Great video!!! I look forward to them all week!!!

[@gordonwd2]

Great start to matching.

[@BrunoWiebelt]

keep the old ones as spaceport or make a extra set ... when you at it and have a spare onboard

[@jaredwilliams5252]

Have you thought about using your belt sander on the bandsaw cut to make the inside diameter smaller?

[@iyurtygaming8588]

You should replace all the stringers