Finally, it is finished, apart from bunging the whole thing on the back of the
boat.
The build took longer than anticipated, mainly because of down time waiting for the
rudder to dry out sufficiently so it could be reshaped and fibreglassed - a mission in itself! Overall, I am pleased with the result of the
project so far but of course the final arbiter of my success or otherwise will be if the thing actually steers the
boat. Originally, vane movement was transmitted to the trim tab tiller via 1.5mm
spectra in small bore irrigation tube, but a lot of cycles on the test
bed showed the
spectra line starting to cut into the tube on the bends so have reverted to the bicycle derallieur cable and sheath idea. Cable is stainless and the sheath teflon lined and so far no wear is showing up during testing.
Next report will be a sailing one, and even if its a complete cock-up, I will submit an honest assessment.
So, hope like hell it works..