Second Side

FISH STIX rudder composite.

Carbon fiber is slippy to cut and Kevlar is just plain hard. To make a cut with the grain of the fabric, slip a thread out and it will give you a straight line to follow.

Fabric stapled to door using duct tape to hold and stretch fabric. This has been tweaked to follow the two main axes of the rudder.

The dark spot on right is filler to correct fairing. More staples and fabric is stretched tight.

Coat of Unfilled epoxy with slow hardener as Kevlar is more difficult to wet out than glass. I use my hand and a spreader to work the epoxy down to the wood.

Pallet wrap, waxed on one side, is stretched and stapled with more duct tape. The plastic cover gives a nice smooth surface that does not need more epoxy to fill the weave. Any air pockets are stabbed with a pin to let the air out. Usually the epoxy is too thick to escape. The light colored area is more filler over the defect.

Last, a piece of waxed glass is bent over the blade and weighted.