I know its been awhile since I posted any updates, but I could only show so many pictures of the starboard hull being faired. Although the construction method described by Ian Farrier results in fair hull lines naturally, it still takes some time and effort to get the details just right. And since the exterior surfaces are seen by the world (as you sail by at Mach 2!), I want them to look professional. So I have made three passes with fairing putty and longboard torture. Here you can see the last thin touch ups with putty freshly applied to one side. I hope to have this stage of fairing complete this weekend so we can move on to exterior glass. But I think it is easier (and maybe better) to fair now rather than after glass is applied. We will have to do a final fairing after glassing to fill the fabric weave and blend any seams, but that should be minimal. Then we get to do it all again on the port hull (my muscles ache just thinking about it!)
While working towards an elusive perfection, I noted some subtle waves in the hull surface. No doubt these were due to my inexperience. But these features had a scale similar to the 30" long fairing boards I was using. As a result, these fairing boards would never be able to smooth these features, so I needed a longer board. I decided to make a 5-foot long board out of 1/2" plywood. I found wooden knobs and mounting plates intended as feet for furniture to be an excellent hand hold. Initially I set the knobs about 8" further towards the ends of the board, but after about a half an hour of use my shoulders were on fire. So I moved them closer and my shoulders have been slowly recovering. I use 4-1/2" wide, self-adhesive sandpaper cut from rolls on this home brewed board. The adhesive works well, plus I fold the strips around both ends and hold the ends in place with staples for extra support. I also sanded the bottom ends of the board to a gradual taper so the board tends to ride up and over features until they are blended. All in all, it works very well and the waves are quickly disappearing.
