Bobby's Boat Works

Name: Bobby's Boat Works
Address: La Grange, La Grange, TX, 78945, US
Telephone: (979) 250-1668

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La Grange, TX
Bobby's Boat Works

Replacement rudders, tillers & dagger boards for Sunfish & Zuma sailboats in stock, as well as tillers for CFJ, Force5 & 420 sailboats.

Replacement rudders and tillers for many other boats on a custom basis.

04/29/2022

Finished this set of "Storer Drop in Outriggers" yesterday for friend. These took a lot longer to build than I anticipated! I was thinking "they are small, can't take more than a week of labor". Ha! They may be small but there are a lot of parts, basically it was almost as much work as building two boats! But, they look pretty good now and as I have a set for myself, I know they work great. I hope Stan Roberts enjoys them. He is on his way now to get them.

02/25/2022

It's too cold for varnish or epoxy work, so I decided to work on these Storer Drop in Outriggers and take them 3D today. Very pleased with the fit of all the pieces. Now I just need a little Texas warmth to epoxy it all together.

01/07/2022

This rudder for a Seaward 25 is almost ready to go. Just one more coat of paint. The first picture shows what I had to start with, along with some dimensions from the customer. Using those and the top portion of the original rudder I drew out the pattern. I then sent it to him to place up against the boat and confirm it would work. He sent it back with a couple of recommended changes and I got started. The problem now was how to make it so that "horn" that the tiller attaches to doesn't just break off. I had several ideas, most of them I didn't like. Then this one came to me and I felt it would work. The rudder is actually made from 4 different pieces of mahogany wood with 1 piece of ash sandwiched in at the top and 2 more sanwiching the forward section of the horn. The grain of the ash is running fore and aft so as to provide strength to the horn. After that it was glassed and given multiple coats of epoxy. Now I am painting with an Interlux bottom paint that is non-ablative, the customer will put an ablative paint of his choice over the appropriate section. This project got started in the summer and there were a lot of delays on my part and things going on in the customers world. I think we will both be glad to get this one done!

03/04/2021

Here is the Lido 14 rudder ready to ship. I made this rudder out of marine plywood due to the slot that allows the rudder to kickup for beaching. I didn't think that would last very long as a solid piece of wood. My friend is going to glass it and finish it out himself, so this job is done and I'm off to the Post Office!

02/26/2021

This is when it gets really fun! A friend bought a Lido 14 with a broken rudder. He only has a piece of the top section. I found the class measurements for a legal version of the rudder. My friend informs me that the Lido is known for having terrible weather helm. So, now I have been trying to draw out a rudder that will reduce weather helm as well as still be class legal. Not that my friend intends to race it and he is fine with whatever, but if I am going to design a rudder pattern, I want to be able to use it for anyone. I have come up with a design that I think meets all of the criteria. I would be more confident if I had an actual transom that I could hang the pattern on and take measurements to see for sure if it is class legal. I will let my friend hang the finished product on his boat and take some measurements, then I will adjust the pattern if necessary. I love this!

01/27/2021

I was out in the shop working today on an order for 20 Sunfish daggerboards and 40 Sunfish rudders. This is a large order for me and there is a deadline. I have spent a lot of hours in the shop the past week and a half and am nearing completion. Today I was doing a bunch of sanding and this is when the board comes to life. Even though a long period of sanding can be tiresome, it can also be Zen like. As the piece starts to take shape and I run my hand over it looking for any areas that stand out, my mind can wander and ponder life's puzzles.

Sometimes I listen to some music while working, sometimes a podcast ( I love Radiolab), and sometimes I work in silence with just my thoughts. Today I was listening to some music and totally focused in on the boards I was making as I listened to Rush 2112 on Pandora (yes, I am that old!). As the completion of the board comes together I am looking at it and thinking how will water flow over this board. Are there any places that will disrupt the flow? Will the flow stay laminate all the way across the surface? Will the drag be minimal? Will it stall early? I think of all these things and it struck me as odd that I am concerned about this even after making 40 rudders and am half way through 20 daggerboards! I think this is odd, because I will never get any feedback as to the answer. But.....I want the board to be the best it can be regardless and so these thoughts are running through my head the whole time. I love it when the board is complete and the shape looks perfect. I love it when I bring the board out of the paint shop and I hold this beautiful piece of glossy mahogany in my hand. This is every time I look at these boards as I take them to be packaged up and am amazed that they came from my hand.

I was so dialed into all of this that I was startled as I saw the UPS truck driving off and doubly so when I saw the box they had just dropped off sitting in the doorway to the shop about 6 feet away from where I was working! I must have been more dialed into that board than I thought! All in a days work.

05/16/2020

I am finishing up my first custom job. After spending the past few months concentrating on getting my inventory up of the stock items I sell it was exciting to take on this job. This a complete rudder assembly for a Potter 15. Once it is hung on the boat the transom slants backwards and the tiller should be level. John had patterns and plans for the Potter 15 but I consulted with the customer and we decided to modify it to be a complete wooden cheek assembly instead of aluminum. I think this is a much prettier result, but it was a LOT more work and time. The aluminum assembly will probably be the norm from now on.

I feel like I did when I was 16 and I got my first part time job as a mechanic trainee. I can't believe that I am getting paid to do this!

05/15/2020

Sailing is a great way to maintain social distancing while at the same time getting a little sun and away from the house. Take your boat out for a sail! If you need to do some repairs time spent working on the boat can be therapeutic as well. If you need a rudder, tiller or daggerboard contact me and let's see how we can help you.

Address

La Grange
La Grange, TX
78945

Telephone

(979) 250-1668

Website

http://bobbysboatworks.com/

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