rotrax
Well-known member
When we were hauled out at the Hayling Yact Company at Mill Rythe two weeks ago I was surprised to see the weed shoe was missing.
The weed shoe is a piece joining the rear of the long keel to the rudder skeg. Its purpose is simple-fill the gap to stop weed or loose ropes/pot buoys etc getting around the skeg or prop.
The factory does not fit one on our model, all other models are factory fitted. It is left to the commisioning dealer to fit one. The one fitted by Peters Opal at Chichester was, imho, not very good. It was a 75mm wide flat strip of S/S, 4mm thick. To stiffen it a 25mmX4mm strip was spot welded along most of its length. It was attatched by two 8mm bolts at a tongue on the keel and by one 8mm bolt at the bottom of the skeg. I intended to do something about it but pressure of other jobs, procrastination or just lazyness meant I never did.
The tongue at the keel had fatigued and snapped off. The single bolt hole at the skeg had sheared off, leaving the threaded hole filled with the remains. I gave it an old fashioned look and decided what to do.
Both the rear of the leel and the front of the skeg had S/S shaped reinforcing bolted through horizontaly. I decided to make 5mm S/S plate cheek plates and fix them using the horizontal fastners, replacing them with longer ones to account for the extra width. Once they were made, sealed and fitted I knocked up a wooden template/pattern fron a piece od 2x2 batten I found in the yard. It was 1 metre 40 long. I had pre-drilled 10mm holes to take the new weed shoe so their distance apart was transferred to my pattern. I then knocked up at home two 15mm S/S tubes the correct width of the inside of the cheek plates. The fabrication business, LatBros/Solar Arches, on site at the Hayling Yacht Company made me a thick wall 38mm O/D tube which they bored and then my small tubes were welded across at right angles the correct distance apart.
It fitted perfectly. I popped in the front bolt, lifted it into place at the skeg and popped that bolt in too.
Result-total cost for 5mm S/S plate and the fabricated tube was £120.00. The extra length fastnings I had in stock, as well as the sealer and washers.
Well pleased, the boat has a superior weed shoe, much stiffer and better connected than the poor one made by Peters Opal or their contractor. I would have preffered a square or rectangular S/S tube, but could not find any in time.
Pic shows it installed and ready to be splashed.
The weed shoe is a piece joining the rear of the long keel to the rudder skeg. Its purpose is simple-fill the gap to stop weed or loose ropes/pot buoys etc getting around the skeg or prop.
The factory does not fit one on our model, all other models are factory fitted. It is left to the commisioning dealer to fit one. The one fitted by Peters Opal at Chichester was, imho, not very good. It was a 75mm wide flat strip of S/S, 4mm thick. To stiffen it a 25mmX4mm strip was spot welded along most of its length. It was attatched by two 8mm bolts at a tongue on the keel and by one 8mm bolt at the bottom of the skeg. I intended to do something about it but pressure of other jobs, procrastination or just lazyness meant I never did.
The tongue at the keel had fatigued and snapped off. The single bolt hole at the skeg had sheared off, leaving the threaded hole filled with the remains. I gave it an old fashioned look and decided what to do.
Both the rear of the leel and the front of the skeg had S/S shaped reinforcing bolted through horizontaly. I decided to make 5mm S/S plate cheek plates and fix them using the horizontal fastners, replacing them with longer ones to account for the extra width. Once they were made, sealed and fitted I knocked up a wooden template/pattern fron a piece od 2x2 batten I found in the yard. It was 1 metre 40 long. I had pre-drilled 10mm holes to take the new weed shoe so their distance apart was transferred to my pattern. I then knocked up at home two 15mm S/S tubes the correct width of the inside of the cheek plates. The fabrication business, LatBros/Solar Arches, on site at the Hayling Yacht Company made me a thick wall 38mm O/D tube which they bored and then my small tubes were welded across at right angles the correct distance apart.
It fitted perfectly. I popped in the front bolt, lifted it into place at the skeg and popped that bolt in too.
Result-total cost for 5mm S/S plate and the fabricated tube was £120.00. The extra length fastnings I had in stock, as well as the sealer and washers.
Well pleased, the boat has a superior weed shoe, much stiffer and better connected than the poor one made by Peters Opal or their contractor. I would have preffered a square or rectangular S/S tube, but could not find any in time.
Pic shows it installed and ready to be splashed.
