Removing the strip plank panels for the last time

May 31, 2009July 14, 2014

I did not get much work done this last weekend in May, I was pretty tired after having done the SC boat show and on Saturday I helped Dennis lift his boat up another meter off the ground in order to get the rudders into the sockets. We jacked it up a cm at a time until we had it high enough to get the shafts up under the hull and into the socket. This took a few hours. Then with the help of the guys helping jack up the other boat I had them help me lift the strip plank panels off each side of the boat. I have removed them now that the steps are pretty much finished, so that I can glue and glass the dagger cases into the hulls which I cant do without the lids off. I also have some glassing inside the starboard bow to do, then the 2 sides will go back on for the last time and be glassed onto the boat to seal the hulls shut.

On Sunday I started work on preparing the outboard wells so that when I glue and glass the steps on the work inside the outboard well is done. The plans call for both sides of bulkhead 7 (the rearmost spanning bulkhead) to have a full layer of 450gsm glass on both sides. This bulkhead has been cut in an arc from centre line into each hull in order to bury a uni rope, so it makes sense that it would be re strengthened with a layer of glass each side. I have already glassed the inside of it before I made the cockpit furniture. If you don’t recall, I also glued panels of 25mm duflex back into the bulkhead in order to change it from a walkthrough into an enclosed cockpit. So all these joins need to be smoothed so that the glass goes on without lumps or air bubbles. Once I had sanded the rear sides of the bulkhead ready for glass it was too late (not enough time left for me to finish the job in the time I wanted to work until) so I made the ply pads that will go either side of the bulkhead in order to hold the outboard rails. After cutting the 4 pads to size I routered the edges round and sanded them ready to be glassed onto the bulkheads each side once the layer of glass is applied to the back. I still have to mark out the centre lines of each pad so that I can attach them in the correct place and I will also de core the bulkhead at each bolt hole in advance of it going on. Where ever you go through a bulkhead or hull or deck panel you must de-core it and back fill it with glue in order to protect the rest of the core from moisture.

Due to the boat show I did not get as much done on the build as I had hoped. Hopefully I will make more progress in June.