A few other projects while waiting for materials

Two other woodworking projects that we completed while awaiting our boat bits was construction of a vacuum bagging table and a fabric rack.  Neither is strictly required to build the F-82, but both should be helpful.

Here is the vacuum bagging table I built for lay up of the flat components such as bulkheads and decks.  Again, nothing fancy, though we may decide to use it for our dining table in the future, okay maybe not.  I still have to stretch a pond liner over the top to provide the vacuum tight lower surface.  This was also an idea I stole from other builders.  Then I will have to assemble the vacuum system (you can see the pump sitting on the table).  It will be an automatic cycling vacuum system with a vacuum plenum so the pump doesn't have to run continuously.  For more info about vacuum pumping options, I highly recommend perusing the articles at Joe Woodworker (see links).


In an attempt to maximize storage and organization in "The Boat House" I added a shelf under the table for storing the Core-Cell foam core material, as well as a few sheets of marine ply.  As a cost saving measure, Noah's suggested using a supply of Core-Cell "offcuts" where possible. I was able to save about 30-40% on the majority of the foam core by purchasing sheets that had been cut down a couple inches on two sides.  These sheets and the marine ply fit snuggly under the table.  Unfortunately, the standard full size sheets I purchased are actually slightly oversized, and did not fit under the 4 ft. x 8 ft. table.

I also built a basic fabric rack for storing most of our glass, carbon, and bagging fabric rolls.  The rack is wide enough to store the standard 60" wide rolls, and has room for up to fourteen rolls.  I used pvc tubing for the support rails, which works find for the full width rolls.  For shorter rolls, the pvc pipe tends to sag, so I may replace some of the pvc with steel pipe to support the shorter rolls.  In addition to what you see here, there are two additional 110 lb rolls of biaxial glass that will be the primary glass reinforcing for the hulls and decks.  I also have a roll of unidirectional glass and a roll of unidirectional carbon fiber.  The glass is used for general directional reinforcing throughout the structure.  The carbon will be used for construction of the beams that link the floats to the main hull.  Although each of these rolls have approximately the same total weight of fabric, the carbon cost about five times as much.


Real live boat construction coming soon ...