I intended to glue the bedroom walls in today but before I could do that the plans say that BH5 needs an additional layer of glass to both sides so the side of the bedrooms needs to be attached before the walls be glued on. I am not sure my boat still needs the extra glass, I assumed that the reason it is needed is that this bulkhead is usually the mast step bulkhead but wont be on my boat, BH4 will hold the twin masts on mine but I decided I would apply it anyway, for the minimal extra weight, the piece of mind in knowing the boat is as rigid and strong as it should be is well worth it. Surprisingly it took me 4 hours to do. Which didn’t leave much time for anything else.
To start, I had to prepare the bulkhead, that means grinding glue dobs off and making sure the surface was smooth so that the glass has no air bubbles. Once the bulkhead was smooth I had to clean the area of dust, vacuum clean and wipe down the bulkhead. Then cutting the glass to size (and peel ply to size) and hanging it using clamps in place on the bulkhead. The the wet out started. It is a big wet out and I find the easiest way is to start at one end and using a paint brush wetting out a section at a time then using a combination of my hand (or a scraper but I find hands more effective) and a detail roller, press out all air bubbles and touch up any dry spots so that the glassing is pretty much done as you go. Then wet out the next section and repeat until the entire glass is wet and well attached to the panel. There will be the need to go back over and redo the detail rolling here and there to move bubbles that appear and dry spots to apply a little more resin to but the bulk of the work is done.
I decided I would put peel ply over the wet glass so that I got a nice pre keyed surface to work with later. I am unlikely to be fairing any internal surfaces as I have pretty much decided I will use covering of some kind on most internal surfaces, ultra light laminex where I want a hard surface on flat or non compound curved sections and foam backed vinyl where I want a soft finish. The keyed and smooth surface created by the peel ply will ensure whatever lining I cover the wall with will have a smooth surface to adhere to. Peel ply also removes excess resin that brushing on can leave. Peel ply is laborious to apply as you need to have it pulled fairly tight to ensure there are no wrinkles or bubbles in it, as any area under the bubble will have a different finish the that under the peel ply but being a flat surface I was surprised how easily the bubbles came out and the entire panel was able to be peel plied fairly consistently.
Once I had finished applying the peel ply I still had time and I considered gluing the walls in by cutting the peel ply again but decided against it and finished cutting the parts for the ensuite toilet box and then did some planning on how I would run wiring and plumbing.
I have a very early start (3am!) for travel to a 9am business meeting in Melbourne tomorrow so I decided to have an early finish today. I managed 5 hours today for a total of 78 for the month. I have been aiming for 80 hours a month this year but I figure I got close enough. I have had a very satisfying month completing some milestones such as closing the bows and foredeck but I got a lot more satisfaction from installing the catwalk, mostly because it was not a kit item and like the cockpit furniture and as the internal furniture will be, was my design and not having a kit meant figuring out how to make it and cutting the parts and putting it all together, a process I really enjoy.
I have been planning for some time to make the cabin roof and it keeps getting put off a little longer and the latest plan was to make next month now that I have finished the bow section and catwalk work but I have also been told that 9 Lives could be out of the shed in about 5 weeks and making the roof where 9 Lives is now would be much easier than making it under the bridgedeck. I will discuss the timing with the builders and maybe put that off another month and finish installing the dagger cases and a variety of other jobs that still need to be done, such as working on closing the stern sections.
