A few things came up since my last post but construction has continued. My mother died in early March so I had to go to Maine for the funeral and such. Then 2 weeks later my wife served me divorce papers. I haven't felt much like blogging until the dust settled some.
The seperation is amicable and we're trying to split things 50%. But when it came to the house or the half -finished Pocketship she chose the house! Can you believe it? And she supposedly has a good lawyer.
My last post spoke of the trouble I had joining the sides to the bottoms and the gap that was left. (see previous pictures).
Well it just didn't sit right with me since all other parts fit so well. I pondered and pondered and soon figured out the problem. I had put the sides on BACKWARDS!! Port bow at the srarboard stern, though a close fit, just didn't cut it. Luckily I had only wired the pieces and it was an easy fix to flip the sides around to their correct place and guess what?... Everything fit!
It pulled the cracked edges together nicely and, once cured, a little sanding left it almost as good as new! I believe I dodged a bullet this time.
I've been able to continue construction but because of the weather I'm a bit limited. My garage is not air-conditioned so when it's 105 degrees outside it's ugly in the work area.
Here is a shot of bulkhead 2 and the floors ready to install.
HAD A MISHAP!
This is a picture of where my knee slipped of the keelson onto the hull bottom. The weight tore a seam in the hull. I thought about crying when that happened. All I could imagine was having to remake the entire hull bottom. Instead I took 2 pieces of plywood, one inside the hull, one on the underside of the hull, laid some thickened epoxy in the crack and screwed the two peices of plywood together like a sandwich. See below.
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| Underside |
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| Inside Hull (plastic between wood and epoxy to prevent sticking) Note the screw holes in one area - they surround the crack only |
Here is the "finished" product after taking off the sandwich, before sanding.
Once this was repaired all of the floors and bulkheads went in without a hitch. Next comes the dreaded filleting.
I'm worried about that cracked hull. The repair reminds me of a weak scarf I saw online. I would leave that small sheet of ply on the inside for added support or mark it off as "No Step". Unless it's one of those areas that will "never see sunlight again" when you're done.
ReplyDeleteVery interested in your updates though. I live in Az and boatbuilding here sounds about the same as where you're at. Haven't started yet, but soon.
Unlike Caviar I'm not that worried. Fiberglass inside and out should add a lot of strength to your repair. BTW, this post is dated August 15, 2011. Did you ever get any further along on the boat?
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