getting closer ...

So I've used my oven to form all the foam to fit the cabin top mold. I've used two inch squares of 3/8th in. plywood and sheet rock screws to hold the planks in place. Once all the pieces are "dry fit" together, I found it easier for me to start from the middle; edge gluing the planks together one by one.

I'm using SYSTEM THREE polyurethane glue ( similar to the one part, moisture cure, Gorilla glue)

another angle

This is actually the inside of the starboard side cabin top......seen here up side down.

My toaster oven

So you're looking into the inside of my heat lamp powered thermoforming oven. It's made from a few two inch thick 4' x 8' sheets of foil backed insulation foam and a total of ten 250 Watt heat lamps......... takes 6 minutes to heat the foam until it can bend easily.......7 minutes and it puffs up into very expensive landfill fodder.....When this oven is on, I have to turn up the radio to drown out the jet engine like sound of my electric meter.

Laying down the cabin top foam

Here's an action shot of the 1 inch foam going down over the cabin top mold.

forward bridgedeck bulkhead

Here's the core for the forward bridgedeck bulkhead. Notice the 3/4 in. white oak compression member. As shown, this bulkhead incorporates a compression member that helps absorb the loads that will be directed downward into the ship structure from the mast base. This evening, I'll vac bag a total of 6 layers of glass on each side to form the part. When It comes time to install this member, additional layers of unidirectional glass, tape and bedding strips will used.

Vac bagging the cabin center section bulkhead

The Cabin bulkhead consumes the majority of my 8ft. x 12ft. vacuum bagging platform. This cabin bulkhead is 112 inches wide by about 78 inches and is made up of a total of 12 layers of glass ( two layers of 24 oz. tri axial glass on each side of 3/4 inch thick core cell foam) with double strips of uni-directional glass along the edges of what will become the entry door and window openings.

This is one of the largest single flat panels that I have bagged thus far and it required six 1500 ml batches of resin that I mixed and applied one after another. With vacuum bagging, unfortunately, a portion of this expensive resin will end up in a land fill in eastern Oregon because the excess resin is pulled through the perforated membrane that is positioned between the peel ply and the breather medium.

Someday, If I take a 60 ft. wave over the stern, I think I'll be glad that this bulkhead is good and strong. ...... If that happens, it's more likely that I'll wish I was on shore under a palm tree having a beer.

cabin mold between the hulls

I never thought a 60 ft. shop would seem small but I actually had to lift both hulls up a couple of feet so that I would have enough room to build the cabin mold. Scribing all the lines onto the mold forms using carbon paper and the full size templates is an exercise in patience. I was only able to build, scribe and cut two or three molds per day during the week but a full week end allowed me to set them all up on the strong back and lay down the stringers. Note: I had to resort to using double plywood strips in the high curvature areas. A strip of 5/15 in ply topped with a strip of 1/4 inch ply added up to be close enough to the same thickness as the 3/4 in stringers.

taking shape

I couldn't resist the opportunity to flip the port side hull up and position it in relationship to the starboard hull. The cabin bulkheads that protrude from each hull are sticking up like fangs. The edges of these bulkheads are 112 inches apart. Note: the port side bow lacks the solid foam stem section so you'll need to use your imagination and pretend you see a sleek pointed bow piercing through blue green tropical waters.

laying out the cabin form frames

Using the full size cabin templates provided with the plans package, the temporary form frames are being marked onto 3/4 in. chip board. There are about a dozen of these form frames that define the shape of the cabin. Once I cut them all, I'll set them up on the same strong back that was used to create the hulls. When complete, I'll run stringers to create a female mold to which I'll thermoform and fit the one inch corecell structural foam.

on the spot vac bagging

Here's a quick way to bond the additional layers of reinforcement glass where the bow cables will attach. I'm vacuum bagging two layers of unidirectional glass and a square of reinforcement tape over the exterior triaxial glass and the high density insert. It calls out for additional reinforcements on the inside as well

F-44SC Catamaran: a cool fat tire cub

http://www.waaamuseum.org/

a cool fat tire cub

Ok....so this doesn't have so much to do about the catamaran but Its always nice to think about alternate forms of transportation......The little Hood River airport is home to about 20 piper cubs that are tucked away in the hangars that line the airstrip.. Also, right down the street from the shop, a nice collection of antique aeroplanes and automobiles can be seen at the new Western Aeroplane and Automobile Museum.

http://www.waaamuseum.org/

laying down the glass

So a Saturday and part of a Sunday finds the port side hull clad in nice smooth glass. Again, peel ply tops the epoxy and glass and makes it possible to work the resin out and helps insure a good bond between the foam and the glass. My process goes like this.....smoothe the foam, skim coat with micro/epoxy mix to fill the foam surface. roll on a good wet coat of epoxy, lay down the glass, roll on another good wet coat of resin, top with peel ply and work the layers down with a bondo spreader from stem to stern.

help....

It's nice to have a little help now and then. 44ft. long lengths of 32oz. tiraxial glass is a bit hard to handle so four extra hands makes the job of laminating go much faster.

laminating the exterior, inboard, port side bow

Here's a photo taken while standing one the inner port side hull looking forward. The hull is laying on its side in three cradles. I wanted to glass the hull sections with continuous lengths of glass from stem to stern and you can see the recess strip created with a power planer that allows the triaxial glass seams to overlap flush.

Checking the fit.

another shot looking back into the port side hull. (The outer hull section is on it's side) the inner port side hull section is hanging from the shop rafters in prep for bonding all the seams with a mix of epoxy, aerosil, micro and a little chopped glass fiber.

bonding the port side hull

Fitting the port side hull halves.

starboard hull hanging in the breeze

Here's a picture of the mold being broken down while the hull is suspended from the shop rafters. Notice the stack of mold forms in the lower right hand corner of the photo.

disassembling the mold

Next step........reaching around and unscrewing all the screws that hold all the stringers onto the mold forms.

lift in process

Here's the hull being lifted off the forms. Notice the plastic strips that were placed along the plank seams to keep excess glue from sticking to the stringers.