Foils

I have been putting off dealing with the rudder and daggerboard (collectively, blades or foils) for far too long.  I had made a conscious decision not to assemble the rudder box or the centercase until these foils were complete, but that strategy has created a bottleneck. A week ago I decided to overcome my fear of foils, and yesterday also decided to assemble the bigger parts without the completed foils.

I tackled the rudder first because it is smaller and I suspect not as critical to the boat's performance if I screw it up.  Using Storer's handy-dandy foil-o-matic gauge, I hit the leading edge with my belt sander and 50-grit paper.

I worked at opposite ends, leaving the middle untouched for awhile.  The middle was removed with a plane after I was comfortable with the shape of the ends.

I then proceeded to the trailing edge of the same face in the same manner.

The rest of the story (i.e. the opposite face) went the same.  For my daggerboard, I will alter the process slightly.  I will work both faces' ends before removing the middles.  I don't have photos for this post, but I kept the trailing edge squared off per Storer's instructions.  I still need to touch up the edges with a sanding block, but I'm confident enough to commence with the daggerboard soon.  Plus, I have to finish sanding the rudder so I can get some epoxy on it (and fiberglass, and more epoxy, and sanding, and... oy!)