Odd Job Day and Fitting a Ruddersafe

4th June 2016

I made a visit to the boat today to do a few jobs and to fit a Ruddersafe unit, but I also took a few photos of the fixes that have been done to resolve some of the snags we found after buying the boat.

Ballast boxes on the hull floor (under the rear cockpit) and up the transom containing lots of builders ballast to  level the boat correctly

A useable step/footrest in front of the co-pilot seat (a locker would be more useful so I might modify this)

A block to raise the dinette table a couple of inches, makes it easier to sit around

A plywood bulkhead to keep the water tank off of the bow thruster pump, temporary fit to be revisited later

I bought the Ruddersafe from Norfolk Marine who provided excellent  service and a good price.

When I opened the box I was initially impressed with the quality of the contents, it looked like a well thought out piece of kit made to a good standard. Unfortunately there was a problem with one bracket - two holes for the grub screws were over-size so the screws were a very loose fit, but I decided to try to fit it anyway.

The contents of the kit 

This would be a much quicker job with the boat on land, but mine isn't so with the boat in the water and the engine raised I'd have to do it by reaching across from the pontoon. Fearful of dropping tools or parts of the Ruddersafe into the marina I came up with a simple solution.

A 5' paddling pool is a perfect fit to catch tools or anything else I drop!

In theory this should be an easy job, there are only are few fittings to fit! In reality, it's a bit fiddly and much of it has to be done 'by eye'. The rudder blades clamp onto the cavitation plate, they must run parallel to the centreline of the outboard and the blade needs to be 2.5cm away from the propellor, so the alignment process is a bit of trial and error.

First rudder blade fitted

Both blades fitted, not quite in their final position yet. Excess studs to be cut off later

While I was making final adjustments and tightening up the fixings it became clear that the 2 over-size holes were going to prevent me from tightening the 2 grub screws correctly and I couldn't risk fitting it and having it come loose and move or fall off. I called Norfolk Marine and they are putting a replacement bracket in the post for me so I can finish off the job next week.


Unable to finish this job I set about adding a couple more fenders to cover a point we realised could easily be knocked, adjusting the positions of the fenders and trimming off the excess ropes (leaving about 30cm spare, putting a little heat shrink on the ends and sealing using a lighter).

Soon I'd like to add a bow roller so I can tidy up the mounting/stowage of the anchor and possibly replace the fairleads on the bow with cleats - if I can access the fixings from inside.