Es hält Wasser von Gott!!!

S/V Sea Hawk does indeed hold water! But we'll get to that in a second. The hardest part of building a boat is the very end. Where all the bits are going on and it's tough to find a direction to go in. My way of getting past this is to work on the boat until decent progress is made every morning. And I have fulfilled that requirement for today.
The plan for the Cygnet calls for a whimsical duck shaped rudder. If I were to show up on a wharf in Hong Kong with a rudder like this I'd have the tar kicked outta me by wharf rats. A ducky rudder will simply not do. So I decided I'd make it like I have everything else, I'll guess.
First up was the top part of the folding rudder. I got a pencil and drew out what I think it will look like. Then I cut it out. Now I'm using 1/4" luann so I'll laminate it for a full 1/2".

 If the lamination fails I'll simply these bits out of full 1/2" plywood and call it a day. With that sorted out it was on to the rudder. Yes, I am still fascinated by Titanic's rudder so I made one that looks like that. Much bigger and broader then my last one mind you.

That...looks about right. I think.

Once that was cut out twice and put in a vice grip to cure I decided it was time for the dreaded water test. That and I had nothing more I could do at this point.So I grabbed the garden hose and filled her up.

Takes a lot of water to fill this small boat!

 The good news is that if I was taking water over the bow at the rate of the hose and if the world were perfect I could bail fast enough to keep the water out. Of course she leaked. but nowhere near as bad as I had feared. It was mainly along the tops of the chines and along the bottom of the transom where the angle isn't the best. All easily fixed.

  I think once she takes up a bit the leaks will slow down and or stop. I also plan on running a bead of DAP Roofing Sealant around the interior edges as an added barrier. But these leaks are at acceptable levels and sea trials are a go as soon as I have the rest of my bits done. Darn those bits!