This was a very productive weekend as we glassed the port float. Here are a couple of views of the fully glassed hull with reinforcing along the side. Dawna had to help a friend on Saturday, so I laminated the outboard half by myself. I found that I could laminate approximately a meter of hull in 30 minutes with 600 mL of epoxy. Final score: 4 hours of epoxy work and three bubbles. Dawna and I did the inboard half together at a rate of about 20 minutes per meter with 600 mL epoxy. Final score: 3 hours and no bubbles! It is very difficult to see air bubbles under the saturated glass fabric, and my crappy eyesight doesn't help. The bubbles are easy to repair, so no big deal, but I much prefer a perfect lamination. The stern end is another tricky spot due to the point. I think I laminated it three times on the starboard float before I got it right. It is easy to sand through the glass, and the fibers tend to not stay where I put them resulting in air gaps in the lamination.
The laminated hull is very fair, so I don't think I will need to do too much tweaking. We will skim coat the entire hull once the bow is installed and the various reinforcing patches are laminated. But I am hoping for minimal sanding aside from the initial skim coat. I hope to attach the bow cap and add the reinforcements next weekend. Of course we only have a couple of weekends left in the sailing season, so we might head to the lake for a daysail. Sounds like another busy weekend coming up ...
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