side webs

resin infusion was used to create the side webs.

Alex and Tyler

two strange dudes in fantastic hats rode their bikes into the shop and climbed aboard as crew.

bow bulkhead

port side bow bulkhead.....blopped in place over additional 6in hull girth strip. The photo is oriented so that the bottom of the picture is the bottom of the portside hull.

Port side bow floor

The port side bow floor is centered and tapped in place using a good amount of epoxy/aerosil mix. "dig that snappy new floor board."

port side Bow floor stringer

Bow floor stringer bedded down with epoxy/aerosil and glassed over with a ten inch strip of 24 oz. / ft^2 Triaxial glass........then. you guessed it....peel ply
 

electric scissors???????

It may seem sort of silly but these electric scissors (http://www.esmfg.com/electric_cordless_cutter.htm ) are nice for cutting all types of glass, carbon, kevlar, peel-ply and just about anything else. Only problem is that they bring on post traumatic stress syndrome resulting from that time when the electric hair trimmers put an end to that cool hair style I had going as a kid.

port side aft bulkhead in place

Here's a shot taken from the rafters of the shop. I'm hanging on by one hand from a roof truss and trying to take this picture with my other.

The aft bulkhead is double taped in place on both sides over the 9 layers of Unidirectional and triaxial glass I installed yesterday. Again, I'm in the habbit of laying peel ply over all my joints because it makes such a nice smooth finish. 

keeping epoxy away

It has taken me a while to come up with a good method of keeping myself epoxy free. First I put on a full Tyvex jump suit, apply a barrier cream on my hands then playtex gloves, a latex glove over that so that if I have to cut peel ply or handle my scissors, I can just peel off the latex use a tool without getting it all sticky then put on another latex if I need to continue glassing......seems to work OK.  

wetting out the aft bulkhead location

Here's the same thing after wetting all the glass out. 

aft bulkhead location prep

The aft bulkhead gets mounted on ten tapered layers of Unidirectional glass. I cut them to length then wet them in individually to insure good saturation. Over this goes a 16 in. wide girth strip of 24oz./ft^2 triaxial glass. ( Farrier says that when using epoxy, it's ok to use 9 layers ) Wow....that saves me a few ounces. Maybe I could take an extra bottle of beer on board. 

cabin bulkhead install

Installed the two 32in. uni directional strips, layed the 16 in. wide triaxial girth strip, bedded corecell foam bulkhead strips along bulkhead join line, gooped the whole mess with epoxy/micro/aero putty and installed the cabin bulkhead then double taped it in place and covered everything in peel ply.......all after work and before midnight......  

bulkhead scribe tool

Here's a simple scribe tool that I use to mark the final fit demension of the bulkheads. I place the bulkhead where it's supposed to go; then I run this scribe and mark the bulkhead on both sides by keeping the block up against the inside of the hull. The small block of 3/4 in foam is the same thickness of the foam bulkhead mounting strips so once the bulkhead is cut along this line, the bulkhead will fit perfectly against the mounting strips.

port side mast bulkhead installed

Port side mast bulkhead is now in place. The upper portion of this bulkhead is bedded and double taped on both sides to the ten layers of 8in. wide Uni, a 16 in girth width of Triaxial and the inner skin of 24 0z. triaxial glass of the hull.

sugar bugs

When you see lots of sugar bugs in the air it's best to use a dust mask. I's no fun when your lungs itch........ a white suit, a good hat, a double cartridge dust mask and a really nice Bosch sabre saw can make cutting fiberglass bareable.

I use a carbide grit saber saw blade for trimming the edges of the bulkheads. If you start the cut and hold the blade up against the inside edge of the panel, the blade can be made to follow the edge because the vacuum bag process creates a reinforced edge that helps guide the blade.