I'm fitting the mast bulkhead on the right. Again, I set the bulkhead in place then use my sharpy marking tool to give me a 3/4 in. offset mark ( same thickness as the optional foam strips) then I lay the bulkhead down flat and use the saber saw to cut the line. After that, the bulkhead fits perfect on top of the tapered foam edge strips.
3.18.2008
3.16.2008
two layers.....
setting the bulkhead in place
I slathered plenty of filler on the hull, placed the foam strip down, slathered more goop on top of the foam strip then slid the bulkhead in its' place. A quick once over with a bondo spreader that has a 2 in radius edge on it helps create a nice smooth corner that can then be covered with 6 in. wide DBM1708 fiberglass tape.
marking the bulkheads
Since the foam strips are 3/4 in. thick, I made a scribing tool with a piece of scrap foam and a sharpy pen. Once I have my mark, I cut the excess off the edges of the bulkhead with a saber saw fitted with a carbide grit blade. ( I mark both sides because the hull is not always at a right angle to the bulkhead and when I make the cut, I set the saw blade at an angle and try to cut to the lines on both sides of the bulkhead ) Since I use plenty of epoxy fill when I make th join, it dosen't have to be perfect.
fitting the foam strips
installing bulkheads
Here's a photo of the forward bulkhead join detail. Rather than bed the bulkheads directly against the hull foam, I decided to place "optional" foam strips between the edges of the bulkheads and the interior hull locations. The white goop in the join area is a mixture of epoxy, aerosil and microballoons. It serves as a general fillet material and insures that all edges are fully bonded.