9.16.2006

glassing the inside of the outer port hull


wet out of the first ten ft of the inside of the outer, port bow. ( the boat is on it's side and your looking towards the front of the boat from about mid ship )

I'm using plastic spredders and a box full of rubber gloves to work the resin through the dry glass and onto the foam. Once the 24 oz. Triaxial glass is fully saturated and laying firm against the foam, I come back and cover the entire area with peel ply. I don't enjoy sanding glass so the added expense of covering the entire boat surface with peel ply is worth it to me.

I'm finished for the day so I've used a strip of plastic as a release, foam and some weights to hold the edge of the unsaturated glass so that I don't wake up and find a bunch of wrinkles. Tomorrow I plan on finishing the entire inner hull so that I can start installing the bulkheads. Posted by Picasa

9.14.2006

vacuum bagging several panels at once

The two previous posts show some of the bulkheads that resulted from this vacuum bag layup. I somehow managed to nest four bulkheads in one bag without too much trouble. OK.....there was a moment of panic when the sun started peeking through the shop window and shineing directly on the lay-up before I had it all sealed up. Although I'm using "medium" system III silvertip hardener, I wasn't sure if the direct sunlight was going to kick my resin too soon.....Turns out I had plenty of time.

In the background, you can see the bulkhead pieces for the starboard hull. When laying out the bulkheads, I stacked two sheets of corecell together and produced foam bulkheads for both hulls all at once. Posted by Picasa

9.10.2006

peeling peeeeeeeel ply

Although it's best to wait until you intend to install the bulkheads before removing the peel ply, sometimes I just can't wait...... I think I enjoy it just about as much as opening christmas presents. Perhaps it's the sound it makes or maybe the sence of accomplishment that it fosters when a perfectly flat, strong and lightweight composite bulkhead is revealed. Posted by Picasa

4 bulkheads in 1 bag

After releasing a gang of four bulkheads from a vacuum bag, they walked out side to enjoy a solar post cure bath in the sunshine......... Posted by Picasa