The rudder we built swings! Machining bronze castings for our wooden sailing boat. (EP52)

The pieces of the puzzle are coming together with our rudder for Tarkine. We have our bronze castings sent away to be machined and prepared for fitting.
Matt begins by dry fitting the rudder in place, this becomes a slightly difficult job due to the awkward size and shape of the rudder.
Once dry fitted he marks out where all the gudgeon and pintles go and the correct depths.
In-between all of this Ed the Engineer is busy in his little workshop making everything flat and inline, also preparing the rudder stock with a keyway and rather beautiful nut.
We hope you enjoy this latest video after so much hard work on the cabin and cabin top its great to find some direction below the waterline!
As always a big thanks to you all, don't forget to like, subscribe and leave a comment if you fancy!
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[@canyonhaverfield2201]

🎉@ film spot 3:36..oh gosh, my eyes spot your VW...not just a VW, no- a van with a shell in red & cream! So now I fully understand we are bruders in arm..we are like souls with much in common..& after 2 video views, Im nearly positive- a boat by the river will be my most cherished boat build story..every aspect us perfect! And your one of a kine- funny knit hat adds to my positive connection. Tallyho is now sailing the straits of San Juan..then further N. with little contact to the web..so my thrist for building, humour, good souls, beautiful levels of build execution, sense of fun even excellent background music...& canine cuteness...brings me much happy

[@Gnipsel]

I've moved a lot of heavy equipment and lifted heavy things using my brain as the major power source. I have several milk crates from the last few decades and they sure come in handy. Just keep your wits about you and you will be fine. Can't wait to see the boat in the water. I used to single hand a 21' swing keel in the Gulf of Mexico for a number of years and still remember the fun, excitement and terror of sailing. Mostly fun and excitement...

[@tomblodgett7389]

Excellent craftsmanship. Your attention to detail on everything you do is on point. You two are building an amazing boat!! Cheers from Austin, TX

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh yeah! Thanks, super happy to hear so!

[@pascalleguennec9112]

Bravo ! 🎉Un amoureux ❤du travail du bois et des voiliers ⛵️ ... 😊

[@davehine724]

Your music choices for these vids are fantastic!!!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh great! That what we like to hear! Cheers

[@psystealth]

beautiful Matt !! nice Hat 😀

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha thanks!!

[@gregknipe8772]

my imagination gets a refill every time I see your works on this sweet craft. thank you!!!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha that’s great!! Thanks

[@ricksimpson1543]

Very nice work! I was really wishing you had some help with the lifting but your typical ingenuity worked just fine!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha yeah! Iefke away at work and Obie was fast alseep.. nothing a milk crate couldn’t handle!

[@ElleKendra]

Never fun making cuts and fittings when there are no second chances. Nice job.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yep! It’s a scary thing and to make a mistake would not be good!

[@edkleinstuber2119]

Sat on my deck beside my sailboat with some fresh picked tomatoes and enjoyed every minute of this vid. Thanks for taking the time to put it together for us. Making tough decisions without your wife is a gutsy move, nicely done. ed

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh wow what a splendid way to watch our video! Glad you’re living the dream!

[@stevedunford7632]

Orca will get a headache trying to attack that. Very nice work as always.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh yeah we hope so too! Hahaha

[@jonappleton1704]

Not the easiest thing to do single handed! Looking great as always!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah a bit of brute force and ignorance and we got there! Thanks

[@DWAJarrett]

That must be up there with the prettiest rudder ever❤ Lots of ways to solve gudgeons and pintles, I think you have a great solution to a really complicated problem.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Aw thanks mate! Appreciated

[@normanboyes4983]

Matt the rudder and the associated bronze fittings are a work of art - you have a good eye for detail and aesthetics. A couple of comments on detail if I may: (1) Difficult to judge on a video but when the key is in the shaft the shoulder that will be doing the driving (or standing proud of the shaft) looks a bit ‘short’ it looks as though it needs a ‘taller’ key which will require the bronze fitting to be re-broached. (2) Once the rudder is in service keys tend to ‘grow’ themselves in place, do yourself a favour take the key out and at one end on the top, drill and tap for an M8 bolt that can be used to jack the key out of the keyway. On installation pack the threaded hole with marine grease. Keep up the good work.😀⛵️👍

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh nice, thanks for the great ideas! Really appreciate it. Cheers!

[@iefkelena]

Rudder workout.... You did a great job! Thanks for the nice video, I keep on dreaming how she will look in the water, on her journey with that lovely crew!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thanks mate! Much appreciated.

[@regdix2908]

Congratulations, Live the dream. A job well done.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thankyou! Working for the dream and living the dream! Not bad really

[@ghoogers]

Great work!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@janhellinck6830]

i like the swing

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

It is satisfying isn’t it!

[@sailingsheriff3349]

Love your work

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thankyou! Glad you’re enjoying it!

[@n01k32]

great episode, beautiful brasswork and rudder, Tally Ho Tight!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh yeah that’s it! Hahah

[@lifeexplained2u]

First video i saw of you your arm was in a sling. Dont end back up there! Looking good. Keep up the good work.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha feeling strong now but yes need to be careful!

[@StevieB_Slowbart]

Bravo! Such an interesting juggle between finessing and wrestling.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Or how to make a wrestle look finesse? Haha

[@geoffbox4455]

It is so relaxing watching your vids. Great to see a crafts person(s) at work. You are both doing such a good job. Thank you

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh we are glad to hear that, super happy it’s a relaxing watch! Thanks

[@kentate435]

Wonderful progress

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thankyou!

[@bendaves77]

Matt, I'm 46 and as a young man and still although I know better have always been known to do things on my own. Lifting heavy things or whatever it is, it's usually the wife that calls a friend without me knowing asking for help before I hurt myself. I have blown my shoulder out and had 2 reconstructive surgeries on it and have had a disk replacement and fusion in my lower spine only to injure my back higher up and now needing another surgery. I say all this to say that you should be asking for a helping hand before you further injure yourself and end up in your 40s and waking up every morning sore and stiff. Resulting in it taking you several minutes to get up and walking around in a form or shape similar to how other people get up and move in the morning.. once you injure your back there's no coming back 100% ever again, same goes with living life without pain. Living a life that involves chronic pain sucks for the person who has it and the person or people who are living around that person.. would like to see you and others I've warned keep from making the same mistake... such beautiful hardware, no doubt you are going to have a stunning sailboat.. the cool thing is that everyone who comes aboard will see and know the amount of skilled craftsmanship that you 2 have poured into your boat..

[@user-yl3cp3rp8l]

I think you're heading in the right direction with this beautiful rudder

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh thanks, great to hear! Cheers

[@wminnebo]

Love the work Matt. Fingers crossed it still swings as nicely as it did after the bottom brackets have been fitted. It’ll be a challenge to line them all up. Suppose that’s where your “wiggle room” comes into play 😊

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hey there Willem! Wiggle room is a boat builders savour! Haha

[@MurfittTim]

That was hard work for you on your own but as ever you managed it. Getting the balance between strength and ease of maintenance is not easy but the better the design the less maintenance you will hopefully have to do later on. Looking good as always.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thanks Tim! Much appreciated as always!

[@rickestabrook4987]

Good work Matt!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Cheers!

[@sboileau2]

This video drove me nuts! I kept putting down my coffee and saying 'Wait let me give you a hand' lol ..... Love the lines of the rudder and the fittings!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha yeah we even had that when we were editing it! It is hard to watch and not do something!

[@pauld9530]

I love that rudder and the bling. It looks so cool how the bracket curls around the prop opening. So i have no idea what the correct boat words are.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Ah there is no such thing as correct word in boats! Different all over the world. But you did well! Cheers

[@PeterSpringhall]

Well that one felt stressful! 😮 Great effort and outcome!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah an on the edge of your seat moments there!

[@user-jp3xr8od2k]

That's awesome guys !! Your machinist does nice work and you did a great job fitting that !! Cant wait to visit and see it for real

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah it’s getting there! Thanks

[@MikeAG333]

The woodwork.....yes, easily. The fibreglassing, yeah, I'd manage. The finishing? - I'd be rubbish. The machining, and other metalworking?........I wouldn't have a clue. Boatbuilding looks such fun, and such a broad collection of skills. Pity my wife has vetoed the idea..... So, you found an old Pom to do the machining. A Yorkie, I suspect. I like the new introduction, Matt, and if I can offer a suggestion I'd say stick with that every time.

[@Loffyfromthehills]

Love your work Matt, and most people do not appreciate how many skills go into building a boat, especially one like yours.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahahaah yes we feel the same, metal work and finishing is an art that we cannot do or understand, that’s why we are so lucky with Ed! Thanks mate. Much appreciated

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thanks!!

[@marleenenmarcelhoremans6636]

Klijken en meten , veel tijd verstreken . Maar telkens weer maak je er iets fantastisch van . Prachtig werk , je mag trots zijn op je zelf . Groetjes Marcel .❤

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Dank je wel Marcel! Het is inderdaad altijd veel meten. Meten is weten zeg maar ;) Bedankt voor het kijken en de positieve feedback! Word enorm gewaardeerd

[@kimrevell9419]

Yep my mind is blown, she is beautiful.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh what a wonderful thing to say, thankyou. Very kind

[@davidrichardson5163]

Another stunning achievement, Matt. Surely you can rig up a hoist or something similar to lift the rudder so the strain isn't on your back? If you trip whilst supporting the weight of the rudder, you'll do yourself some serious long-term damage.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yes that might be a wise idea… haha

[@rolandtb3]

Expensive, intricate, heavy work. One step at a time.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yep exactly! Thanks

[@Kaymarie660]

It looks like a work of fine art! ❤ fantastic job!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh amazing to hear! Thankyou

[@user-qk8dr2ye5n]

Doing great work again! Good idea having the hole going all the way through on the heel. This will allow the water to flow through and prevent the accumulation of debris which would ultimately cause wear to the heel. Would it be worth considering machining a recessed hex or simple slot in the bottom end of the pin to aid removal/fitting of the rudder with it secured by grub screws?

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah that’s a good idea! We will pass that on to Ed thanks!

[@hairy8184]

I could almost smell the jarrah, hard to describe, but I used to call it sickly sweet. I miss it, don't see much of it where I live now and never imagined I'd see used it on a rudder but hey it's certainly a tough timber. Looking good.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah we really love this jarrah we got, such rich colour and surprisingly easy to work with!

[@rossmain4142]

Beautiful work

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thanks!

[@Vendelcrow1948]

Hi gang!!! Looking good, the rudder!! As for the tiller, get one tiller extension, its really good steering hanging out side. I have a seven meter, open wooden double ender with a tiller ca 1,90 m, and an extension of two alu pipes, the outer one goes into the other, and can stop by turning the cork ball.....Its SO handy !! Consider it, and check out the tiller extensions for sale.... Allda bestest from mikke in sweden....;-D

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh yes good idea! Thanks!

[@ikerstges]

bronze-bling-beauty, luvit!!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thankyou!!!!

[@MrPeerBonnemann]

I am quite obsessed with your work

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha that’s great to hear! Thanks

[@craftendra]

Look absolutely beautiful and strong. Wish I had bronze hinges too. Very well designed. I’m excited how you‘re gonna build the post 🤓

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Cheers matey!

[@semaphoredm]

Great work. Am loving the journey.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Fantastic! We are glad to hear it!

[@rolanddunk5054]

Hi,A brilliant job on the rudder Matt even more so when doing it by yourself.Great work 👏👏👍.cheers,Roly🇬🇧.PS.after taking another look at your video would it be possible to fit a straight pin through the middle and bottom brackets with a bolt through them to hold the pins in place,the brackets remain in place with just the rudder stock to take out..

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Cheers Roly! And thanks for the nice idea, a good one!

[@Antipodean33]

Top effort mate, this boat has really come along nicely. That rudder looks like it's made from Jarrah, if so i can imagine the weight, not to mention it's hardness. I was lucky to get a job demolishing a structure inside of an old workshop used for maintaining trains. It had huge Jarrah beams 8 to 10 inches wide and varying lengths of around 10 to 12 feet and 2 inches thick. I was told it was over 100 years old and the owner wanted the timber not only removed but scrapped. Suffice to say there was no chance of dumping it so I kept it all. I've made hundreds of bucks selling some of it here and there. I couldn't believe the owner wanted it scrapped, what a criminal waste I thought

[@tommiller8416]

Just found your videos, great work! :)

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh yes nice! Glad you found us! Welcome haha

[@ed_cetera]

Amazing all that lines up so squarely and pivots so nicely, Im guessing that too precise may equate to tight, in future, what with the swelling of wood and changes the water immersion has to make. Your efforts are worth it, it's looking very nice indeed !

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thankyou! Yes the seawater will be the true test! Fingers crossed

[@SavingMaverick55]

That has gotta be the most complex and unique gudgeon and pintle setup I've seen on a sailboat. Your not worried about dissimilar metals attacking each other with your bronze gudgeons and stainless pintles? Someone bolted stainless plates over the bronze gudgeons on the sternpost of my boat and when I went to remove it all, the gudgeons fell apart.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

We are always worried about our metals but not much to be done, we will stick an annode on and hope for the best! Haha Your last video was good! Keep up the hard work!

[@SavingMaverick55]

@@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River Thanks! Will do!

[@rick91443]

Great timing; morning coffee and wife's not up yet(to tell me I have better things to do, lol...) cheers richard of Normandy

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Ah good to hear, saves you from mowing the lawn or doing chores again!

[@xpdnc9794]

I love a good gudgeon, not so keen on a pintle HaHa 🤪😜 but seriously great work especially hanging your rudder by yourself. Usually at least a two man job.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh and we keep getting them confused!! Haha

[@frederickszalay1484]

Magnificent bronze hardware on a superb rudder! Are you folks planning to fiberglass the outside of the hull? And how many layers? It is one beautiful hull. What are your plans for the external ballast?

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yes! Maybe two layers on the outside, we already have one on the inside.. so it should be enough! External ballast is 5.5ton of lead which e have slowly been collecting over the years!

[@paulgatenby6354]

Love your work. What would we do without milk crates. An old builder mate of mine calls them dairy farmers scaffolding . If you stack two and stand on it it's dangerous but if you cable tie them together it's then safety scaffolding.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh glad you noticed! Milk crates are the best! People often build bed heights to a milk crate standard haha

[@willemhekman1788]

Nice intro!

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Cheers mate!

[@davidbamford4721]

CAREFUL !! If you heat bronze you won’t make it soft, you’ll make it brittle. VERY brittle! If you heat it and then hit it, you will have two pieces of bronze. Don’t ask me how I found out about this.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh that’s some great advice, thankyou! I guess you learnt the hard way..?

[@boooshes]

He was speaking of heating enough to soften the bedding compound, in this case Sikaflex, when he needs to remove the lowest pintle and gudgeon.

[@joesprague1464]

Beautiful wood and bronze work here,almost a shame to cover it in bottom paint…

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yep! It’s always sad to cover up such beautiful wood..

[@dnomyarnostaw]

Good progress. Am I right in understanding that the entire turning/steering mechanism is relying on that single keyway at the bottom of the shaft?

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Thanks! Yeah it’s also a compression fit to a lip on the shaft and the big nut on the bottom plus a couple of grub screws! In our engineer we trust!

[@dnomyarnostaw]

@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River It sounds quite adequate when all those components are working, but things like seawater, stray currents, dissimilar metal corrosion, and shear brute force have ways of foiling the best plans. For example, the metal key on the keyway is probably stainless steel, where bereft of oxygen, it could suffer crevice or galvanic corrosion. In my head, I see 40 kilos of bronze strapping designed to hold the rudder together, and then 200 grams of 5mm flat steel that the whole system relies on. And they call me Paranoid. Can you believe it? 😀 Ps. One around the world yachtie put a metal fastening point at the top of his rudder, so if the steering mechanism failed, he could attach a rope or chains to the top of the rudder directly for emergency steering.

[@markweiss6222]

Really hoping you don't get a sore back like I got

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

So far so good! Won’t be doing it again like that haha

[@mikem1436]

There were a couple of videos earlier in making the rudder; too many videos to search thru. I believe the rudder was made with several pieces of wood glued (epoxied) together. It is fairly wide. What was done to reduce the chance of splitting and breaking along the grain. Were the wood piece drilled, and dowels inserted, or something to that effect?

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yep, it’s through bolted also so should be strong enough!

[@gregoryh4601]

Sir Matt Just a thought would a Bronze half circle on the Boat side help and dress her up more?

[@mgmcd1]

You need some tackle to deal with that rudder perhaps, rather than wrestle it around by yourself. 😊

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah I think that’s the next thing, especially as it keeps getting heavier with all the bronze

[@mgmcd1]

@@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River at least you won’t have to worry about dropping it.

[@user-ob1xw9kf5l]

I deeply love your hat. Where can I find the same ?

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahahaah oh that’s a mother in law special… rare as hens teeth haha

[@user-ob1xw9kf5l]

@@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River keep it well and don’t be stolen ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@karengunn4558]

Assume your shoulder is better than ever now. Hope that's the case, as that's some heavy lifting you're doing there

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah, I will try and take it easy next time.

[@user-di4kv9yk3g]

i do love to watch a grown man struggle with the little things - but joking aside, take it from me, its the little things that can ruin your day, i broke my back two years ago and it is still giving me bother today, and Matt remember your shoulder, when laying in bed at night is when the best plans come together, i would suggest, taking a large lump of timber, perhaps a stump or something, chainsaw a slot into it to make a foot for the rudder to sit it as close to desired angle, you could use a ratchet strap to secure and use what's laying around the workshop doing nothing, mmm like that weird contraption sat in the corner, yes Matt the forklift, its very useful for defying that mother of all f**k ups, they call it gravity, that's what broke my back, it wasn't the height or the fall, it was the landing, you can lean the rudder against the forklift for desired or correct angle and stand back and admire the genius who designed the forklift - but anyways, great job, nice to have some bling at the rear

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Oh wow, yes you’re right. Only get one body to use and need to look after it!

[@user-di4kv9yk3g]

@@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River haha - you'll learn after the first time AND FORGET - we're all indestructible until that one accident that changes things - after doing my back in (now two years ago) still gives me agro, and everything i do, even getting out the car, i have to think through, it really slows you down, so yeah, one body, one chance, don't muck it up Matt, you got a great wife there, and i know you'd hate to be a burden - stay safe

[@bendaves77]

I know you're a ways off still but what's your plans for rigging and what type rigging are you going to be using?? Dyneema or stainless steel cable or???? Just curious I'm no sailor but have found a recent interest in sailing, have recently watched a video were a young man is rigging his Wharram catamaran 46'er using dyneema and he's doing it himself. It's pretty amazing technology. Seen many professional riggers talk about how great it holds up. One said after 6k nautical miles the dyneema looked brand new without any signs of wear or weakness..

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Yeah we just watched his video! It’s is quite interesting. We are still not sure which way we are going to go.. need to find a rigger that can give us some advice!

[@bendaves77]

@@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River it's pretty interesting with the use of dyneema and the ability to carry everything you need for all rigging repairs..

[@svpearlsailacapegeorgesail4758]

There's a lot riding on that keyway, I've removed rudders and there's always wear. What's going to happen if that keyway breaks? The forces are extreme with a following sea, I'm not criticizing, just speaking from experience.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Ah in our engineer we trust! It also has two grub screws and the big nut compresses the casting against the shaft so it should be ok! Propellor are done the same

[@adrianhope4796]

Are you saying all the stress /weight of steering your rudder is through that key and key way?

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

In combination with the lip and locking nut yes. It’ll be plenty

[@normanboyes4983]

That is the standard way to do it.

[@MrPetrvershinin]

[@TheMikesylv]

Where the hell is your wife/girlfriend to help you with the rudder

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hahaha she’s off working to pay for the bronze work!

[@TheMikesylv]

@@Building_a_Boat_by_the_Riveryea figured I was joking anyway I sure you gathered that. Peace brother

[@ghoogers]

Just checked your Patreon account. On 6/24/2024 I sent you AU$100 and the Patreon account does not show it. There is a note that the Patreon account expired on 05/29/2024. I have no idea where the money went. Gus

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Hey Gus, firstly thankyou so much for your amazing donation! I think you mean PayPal, and what happens there is the fundraiser has ended, they only last a month and we don’t know how to change that.. you were the only person to donate last month, so what happens when the fundraiser ends is we receive any donations and us it for Tarkine. I hope that helps? And once again thankyou for your donation and concern at it disappearing! Cheers

[@flightplan1000]

Nice boat work but the repetitive music sucks.

[@Building_a_Boat_by_the_River]

Ah it's a shame you didn't like it. I try and make the videos pleasant to watch including the music as a soft background. It seems I failed at that for you this time. Hopefully the next will be more to your taste again. Cheers