A 100-Year Rudder

With the Pacific Cup, Singlehanded TransPac and Vic-Maui races all going on at the same time, the focus of ‘Lectronic has been acutely focused on offshore racing lately. Meanwhile, plenty of other notable nautical stories have been quietly taking place with little fanfare. 

A case in point was the installation of the ultra-beefy rudder into the Matthew Turner tall ship, which is currently being built in Sausalito, largely by skilled volunteers. 

It’s often said that the Turner should last at least 100 years. And judging by the way her rudder was constructed, it will probably endure that long as well. According to lead shipwright Franz Baichl, she is built from, "all solid oak planks, laminated together with a cold-molded skin, then three layers of 15-oz fiberglass cloth all around it."

For more on the project, including how you can get involved, see this link.