Hey Brian, Beautiful boat! How do you like the 19' length? I'm launching my 18-footer tomorrow night.

You sound like a skilled machinist/metalworker--I'm envious! If you use 1 1/8" diameter top bars for your rack, you can utilize Yakima accessories. If you use 1"x1 1/4" bars, you can use Thule accessories.

Happy paddling!

Shawn
: I will be taking detailed pictures of the rudder today and will have them
: developed this weekend.

: It was really not that hard to build. I designed it so the pivot point of the
: rudder would be in the middle from front to rear when down for ease of
: control. The blade was made of 3/4 x 1/4 cedar strips with spruce strips
: at the bottom. The top has an additional layer of spruce under the pulleys
: for strength and width. The pulleys themselves are 4" PVC sections
: 1/4" wide and then capped with a disc of sheet PVC (3mm). The bracket
: that the rudder sits in is made of two layers of sheet PVC (3mm) and the
: fiberglassed (6 oz) and painted. The brackets on the transom are 1/8"
: thick aluminum L brackets that are screwed in to the oak backing plate and
: then epoxied in place. All rudder pivot points are aluminum collars with
: aluminum "axles" that I machined. One end of the axle is
: enlarged and knurled and the other end is drilled for a cotter type pin.
: Both the axle pins are drilled on the knurled end for a lanyard that
: secures it to the hull/rudder bracket and the cotter type pins have a
: lanyard to the hull/rudder bracket as well. The lanyard attachment points
: are oak pieces.

: I used standard foot pedals which slide in tracks and stainless steel wire
: goes from the pedal slides to the rudder bracket. At each end of the wire
: is a wire fairlead and a wire crimp. The wire wrapped fairlead attaches to
: a stainless chain detachable link (D ring?) and the D ring goes through an
: aluminum bushing in the rudder bracket.

: The truck rack will be made of aluminum square tubing. I designed it to tie
: into the tonneau cover rails yet be easily removable. Basically it is like
: two goal posts, one at each end of the bed and they are supported front to
: rear with diagonal supports going to the same side middle. The tops are
: made of two pieces, one each side. These horizontal pieces are rigidly
: attached to vertical pieces that slide over the top of the vertical corner
: posts. The horizontal pieces front and rear are actually two pieces that
: slide together to form the pieces that span side to side front and rear.
: Confusing...Yes. Pictures to follow when done...Yes indeed. If done right,
: it can be removed and stowed in the truck cab behind the seat.

: Brian Barnett Orlando, Florida