Settee top installed, and other updates

 Well, it has been awhile since my last update, but progress has been steady (and slow). I finished installing and taping the forward bunk and the cockpit floor.  I spent quite a lot of time preparing the settee top for installation.  The top has two access panels in it for storage with rims made out of marine ply.  Seemed like an easy and quick job, but it took me a couple weeks to cut the ply rims, glass them, and laminate them onto the settee top.  In any case, the top and openings look very neat and should finish well (if we ever get to that stage!)  I also cut the reinforcement for the side of the companionway out of white oak and glued it to the bulkhead.  In the photo looking aft, you can see both the settee top with access ports and the companionway with reinforcement.

Here is a view of the underside of the settee top after it was installed in the port hull half.  The panel has been glued in place and a fillet run along all seams.  I also went back and added partial fillets along some other seams on adjoining panels.  I left the top six inches of panels yet to be joined to panels in the starboard half lose for final tweaking once the hull halves are joined.  Next I will tape the filleted seams and apply peel-ply for a clean finish.  I am very happy with the taping when I use peel-ply.  Although the peel-ply is sometimes a headache to apply, it gives such a nice finish that it is definitely the way to go.  But you also have to remember to peel it off before installing additional elements.  I came close to glueing panels on top of peel-ply a couple times today.

Here is the underside of the settee top for the starboard hull half.  I prepped both panels so it won't take as long to assemble the starboard half.  The marine ply rims are taped to the panels on the underside.  Since we will be sitting on, crawling over, and generally abusing the settee top, I figured it was worth applying a little extra reinforcing.  For a clean finish, the rims were laminated on the panels on the vacuum table.  The peel-ply is still on the panel shown.

Once the settee top is taped in place, I will install the settee front, and then we just have the cockpit seat to install.  So hopefully this stage of construction is close to finished, but no guarantees!

Bulkheads in, other panels in progress

 Progress continues on the interior of the port half of the main hull.  Last week I finished dry fitting all of the panels.  This took quite a bit longer than I expected (the rule of pi, everything takes about a factor of 3.1415... longer than planned).  But I was happy in the end because all of the panels sat plumb and level in the intended locations.

 I also installed all of the bulkheads.  Final installation was done in four basic steps:
1 - Glue the bulkheads in place with just enough epoxy-microballoon putty to hold the panel in place and let set.
2 - Once the glue sets enough to keep the panel from moving, apply a heavy fillet between the bulkhead and the hull, and let set.
3 - When the fillet sets enough to hold its shape, apply the glass tape and epoxy over the fillet.
4 - Before the tape starts to set, apply peel-ply for a super-clean finish.
I thought this all went fairly well, although the peel-ply was a bit tricky to conform to the curves without pulling up.  Unfortunately, today I removed some of the peel ply and discovered several bubble under the tape.  I think I pulled up the tape in a few places while fighting with the peel-ply.  Luckily glass and epoxy is forgiving, so I pulled out the sander and ground out the bubbles.  I'll go back and apply some additional patches to fully restore the strength of the join.

This weekend, after dealing with the bubbles, I moved on to installing the other panels.  I started with the forward bunk and the cockpit floor.  The installation process is basically the same as with the bulkheads.  The only real difference is the panels get lighter fillets and tape than the bulkheads.  In this overview of the hull, you will also notice that I added some braces on top of the panels.  These braces hold the panels vertical.  I am not joining the panels to any vertical surfaces, e.g. bulkheads, so I can make final adjustments when I join the two halves of the hull together.  Hopefully I won't need to make big adjustments to get the halves to match, but best to have some flexibility.

Here is a view inside the hull looking aft from the forward bunk.  The forward bunk has several additional reinforcements because the beams that link the floats to the main hull tie into this section of the hull.  For example, you may notice the unidirectional glass at the bottom of the bunk near the bulkhead.  The bunk and cockpit floor are now glued in place. Next I'll continue with light fillets and tape the panels permanently.

Final bulkheads fitting

 I am finally making some progress on fitting the bulkheads and other panels.  Here is a view of the port side main hull with most of the panels fitted and ready for taping.  The only panels remaining to fit are the cockpit floor.  I spent several days (a few hours a day) very carefully locating the panels on the inside surface of the hull.  This takes some effort due to the complex surface and specific orientation of some bulkheads.  But once I had all of the reference lines drawn out in detail, the process of fitting the panels is much easier.  Plus, these panels need to match the to-be-built starboard side along the center line precisely, so they need to be carefully positioned.

This is a view from inside the v-berth in the bow looking aft at the settee (to the left in the photo) and cockpit beyond.  You may notice the small wood blocks that hold the panels in position.  These work well for ensuring the panels stay where I want them to be while fitting the other panels.  The wood cross members are stabilizing the settee top (vertical panel on left) while I tweak the fit of the settee front (sorta horizontal panel on the left).

Here is a close up view of the transom bulkhead to show the alignment blocks.  These blocks will hold the panel in position while the initial epoxy glue locks them in place.  Then the blocks will be removed and the screw holes filled prior to filleting the panel.  The glass tape over the fillet will permanently seal the holes.  Glass work is very forgiving as long as I don't undermine the integrity of the structure by cutting too much fiber.  A few small holes makes the construction much more precise and saves a lot of headaches.

Do not attempt to adjust your screen ... I have rotated the image to assist you in visualizing the method of my madness ...  Actually, I thought it would be helpful to show the hull in the correct orientation so we can get an idea of what it is going to look like once finished.  For the first time, thanks to modern imagery magic, we can see the interior spaces of the trimaran as they are intended to be.  Note the v-berth in the forward section, the settee amidship, and the cockpit starting to come together.

Fitting bulkheads in main hull

 I know its been awhile since the last post, but I think I pretty much exhausted interesting photos of flat panels and vacuum tables.  I am finally done laminating the various panels (at least those on the full size plans).  So now I am starting to fit the panels into the hull.  This takes some careful layout due to the complex surface and the need for panels to be installed with specific orientations.  The laser level helps to layout the straight lines along the curved hull surface, but a little creativity is needed to figure out how to support the laser at times.

 In these photo, the panels are just set in place to determine if everything is fitting roughly.  You may notice the red layout lines drawn on the hull with the help of the laser.  So far all panels seem to match the contours well enough.  Now I will start trimming the edges that sit on the hull to match the curvature more closely while also lining up the top edges with the hull centerline.  Should be more entertaining than flat panels on a flat table ...

Vacuum bagging tutorial

Since we are spending most of our boat building time on laminating panels on the vacuum table now, I though it would be useful to describe my process.  This is basically the same process described by other, more professional types of experts.  Note that in this example I am just laminating one side of the panels at a time so I don't have to punch a million tiny holes in these foam sheets.  Laminating both sides simultaneously is quicker (by almost exactly a factor of two), and can use less material.  If I were to do this again, I would buy some perforated foam core to make panels.  Nonetheless, the end product is just as good in either case, and plain foam core is a bit cheaper.  So here we go (take notes as there will be a test at the end!):

1)  Start by preparing all of your materials.  You will need:
- The foam core cut to the desired size and shape, and pre-sanded to remove any residue that would inhibit bonding with the epoxy,
- The glass fabric cut a couple inches oversized,
-  Peel-ply cut a little bigger still,
-  Perforated release film so it doesn't stick to the bag, and
-  Breather fabric cut large so the air can get out.
I also have a rectangle of sealing tape laid out on my table top with the vacuum bag sealed along the back edge.  I also have the vacuum feedthrough installed in my vacuum bag and the pump ready to go.  Note the vacuum bag is really just the top layer that seals to the table top.  The table top forms the bottom half of the "bag."  On my roll cart I have my epoxy (paint) tray and roller set up and waiting.  The more you can do before you mix epoxy, the better.

2) Now that we are ready to laminate, let's mix some epoxy!  I use pre-marked mixing cups to make measuring easy.  These cups from Noah's have marks for various mixing ratios and quantities.  I use an electric drill with a paint mixer attachment to mix the resin and hardener.  I have found I need about 45-mL of mixed epoxy for every square foot of laminating.  Regardless of quantity, I always mix for 2-minutes.  I adjust speed of the drill to compensate for quantity, and try to avoid sucking air into the mix.

Here is a tip I came up with for joining pieces of foam core into a single panel.  I just staple the pieces together on the face NOT being laminated.  This hold the seam together until the first side is laminated.  When I flip the panel, I remove the staples and epoxy fills the holes during the second lamination.  In this case, the panel needs to be about 47-inches long, but the  sheet of foam was only 46" wide.  So I just used a piece of scrap foam to cut a 1-inch strip and joined it to the larger panel.  Once laminated, it is as strong or stronger than a single piece of foam core.




 3)  Now it is time to wet the foam core with a good coating of epoxy.  You could skip this and do a "dry lay up," but I think it is good to work some epoxy into the foam texture before laying on the glass fabric.  Although air entrapment should not be an issue on a vacuum lamination, I figure the less air the pump has to suck out, the less likely there will be an unexpected issue.

4) Once the foam is wet, I carefully lay the glass fabric on the foam, ensuring there is glass over all of the edges.  I then stroke the fabric along the direction of the fibers to get rid of any wrinkles.  Be careful here or you can make it worse.

 5) Now you can roll on more epoxy to saturate the glass.  I find it works best to roll on one stripe of epoxy at a time.  Then move to the next stripe while the previous one soaked in to the glass.  You know it is working because the glass disappears.  In this photo you can see how the glass becomes transparent when saturated (right half).  You don't need to over-saturate the glass, just enough to make it transparent with no white strands remaining.

6) As soon as the glass is saturated with epoxy, lay the peel-ply on top.  Try to lay it out carefully with no wrinkles.  Once it starts to absorb the epoxy It will become more difficult to adjust.  If you move it around too much it will start to drag the glass which can make a mess.  In general, less handling is better with all steps of the lay up.  The peel-ply serves a couple purposes.  First, it absorbed excess epoxy, which result in a lighter, stronger part.  Second, once peeled off, it creates a surface that is ideal for bonding to epoxy during later assembly.  Third, it creates a very smooth and uniform surface.

7) Now roll over the peel-ply to set it into the wet epoxy.  I start by making a cross through the center of the panel.  Roll slowly so the peel-ply sticks to the panel and not your roller.  Don't add any extra epoxy, rather let the peel-ply soak up the excess epoxy from the glass.  This step is another that is not really necessary, but I think it helps avoid problems later.  I think this step helps ensure the peel-ply doesn't get creased when pressed under vacuum.

8) Now you can lay the perforated release film on top of the peel-ply.  This film prevents the breather fabric from sticking to the part being laminated.  The film has small holes punched through to allow air and excess epoxy to escape.

9)  Next on the stack is the breather fabric.  There are various types, but I like the high-loft type that feels like a fluffy blanket.  The breather need to overlap all edges to give air a path to escape when the vacuum starts.  I cut it long and then fold a pleat at one side where the vacuum feedthrough will sit to serve as a manifold for air escaping under the pressure.

 10)  Now the vacuum bag layer is layer on top and sealed to the table via the sealing tape (yellow) around the perimeter.  This takes some practice to get the seal uniform without lots of leaky wrinkles.  Be careful about pulling the bag too tight when sealing because it may pull the sealing tape off the table once the vacuum starts and the bag stretches to conform to the shape of the panel.  Notice the vacuum feed trough nipple at the far end of the table on top of the breather fabric pleats.

 11) On goes the vacuum hose and the pump starts sucking the air out.  I continue to massage the seal to work out leaks.  I found my ears to be the best leak detectors.  I walk along the seam with by ear almost touching the table and listen for leaks.  Once the seal is tight my pump runs until it reaches its set point and then kicks off until the pressure creeps back up.  You can also use a continuous running pump with no reservoir.

As the atmosphere presses down on the evacuated stack of materials, excess epoxy will seep through the holes in the perforated release film and get absorbed in the breather fabric.  This is good for making a strong, lightweight panel.  I am working at almost 7000 feet altitude, so I don't have as much atmosphere to press down with as those of you at sea level, but it is still adequate to make an excellent panel.

 12)  After the epoxy cures for a few hours (6-12 hours, or more, depending on the temperature), you can remove the panel.  If you are careful, the vacuum bag with sealing tape and the release film can be reused.  The breather is best used only once.  The excess glass and peel-ply can now be trimmed with a sharp knife.  If you do this within 24-hours, the knife will cut the excess off very easily and cleanly.  If you let the epoxy fully cure over days, it gets tougher and may require more effort to trim.

And Voila! here is your laminated panel (or half laminated if this was the first side).  To do the other side, just repeat the above steps.  With a little practice, this is very efficient and you will be able to make super-strong lightweight panels.  Initially the process can be frustrating due to excessive mucking with the layers.  Remember, less handling is always better, and the process is generally self-correcting.  So far I have not had any panels come out looking bad, much less unusable.  The same cannot be said for my effort laminating by hand (see discussion about the first float half about a year ago).

Starting to install flat panels

We are still laminating bunches of flat panels on the vacuum table.  I have finished about half of the panels from the full-size plans, and also noticed there are several panels that are cut to fit.  This is going to take a couple more weeks to work through (if only the day job didn't take up so much of the day!)  However, we have now started installing these panels in the port half of the main hull.  Here is a photo of the aft cockpit and side deck installed.  Technically, these are the last components of the deck to be installed, rather than interior panels.  Nonetheless, the flat panels are starting to get used.

As we have done with other panels, e.g bulkheads, after trimming to fit, we bed the panel in epoxy putty, form a nice fillet (in this case only along the inside seams), and tape in place with 12-oz double-bias glass and epoxy.  I am also finishing these seams by applying peel-ply over the tape. Once cured, I peel off the peel-ply and the result is a smooth join with no evil epoxy-glass spikes along the edges.  You can see the result looks very clean and professional (said with a thick southern accent).  I have most of the panels ready to assemble the rest of the cockpit required at this stage, but I need a couple bulkheads before proceeding.  More to come ...

News Flash: Farrier to discontinue boat plans!

I recently saw a post from Ian Farrier announcing that he will discontinue his sailboat building plans on Sep. 25, 2012!  Apparently he is focussing his attention on developing his production boat business again.  He is currently planning to start production of his new F-22 design.  He notes there are several quality builders that are licensed to build his designs.  He also mentions availability of kit boats, which might be interesting for someone wanting to build without as much time commitment.

In any case, if you have been watching this blog with the intent of trying this yourself, you may want to get your plans very soon.

Panels, panels, and more panels

 Now that the port hull interior is fully glassed, it is time to prepare the myriad of flat panels that reinforce the hull and divide the volume into various spaces.  These flat panels are best laminated on the vacuum table.  As discussed previously, I am applying the glass and epoxy to one side at a time rather than perforating a couple hundred square feet of foam core.  Unfortunately I got a little hasty today and tried flipping the first set of panels too early.  The epoxy was fully gelled, but still too soft to release from the table easily.  To make it even more difficult, I didn't place a sheet of release film under the panels, so I had to use a thin scraper blade to free the overrun epoxy from the table.  I will be sure to wait a good 6-12 hours before trying to remove the panels from here on, and I will need to thoroughly clean the table for the next set of panels.

I tried to precut some of the materials for the dozen or so sets of panels.  Laminating one side at a time requires twice as much release film and absorbent matting, and I ran out.  So I will be placing an order for another 50 yards of each.  I have enough supplies to get through about half of the panels, so I have a little time before I need the additional materials.  As we slowly make progress, our stock of materials is dwindling.  I will probably need a few extra sheets of CoreCell foam core as well, but I think we will be close to the planned quantity.

Here are some of the cut foam panels awaiting their turn on the vacuum table.  It took the better part of a couple of days to cut all of the panels.  I transfer the full size plans to poster board and then use the poster board templates to trace the shapes on the foam.  I think this method is much easier and more efficient than transferring the plans directly to the foam.  The laminating will probably be going on for the next couple of weeks.  But I am fabricating both the port and starboard half of the panels, so this will all pay off once we get to the starboard half of the hull.

The glassed deck

Last weekend we finally glassed the interior of the deck.  As planned, Dawna got stuck on the inside while I supplied fresh batches of epoxy from outside.  It was also quite warm, in the 90s by mid-day, so we had to move fast to keep ahead of the epoxy cure time.

The lamination came out quite well, thanks mostly to Dawna's talent.  After three hours in the hull wetting out glass with epoxy, I offered to finish the aft end of the deck and give Dawna a break.  Of course, this was the only area where we had any bubbles form in the laminate.  Lesson learned: Never give Dawna a break!  It is very difficult to see the bubbles under the laminate, and the white splotches of putty filler tend to camouflage the bubbles.  In any case, I will have to grind out the bubbles and add a few patches of glass fabric.  In the end, my "oopsies" will blend into the hull, but it is frustrating to do all that work so carefully and still have some blemishes.

Getting ready to glass the deck interior

Over the past few weeks, we made progress on several fronts.  As you can see in the photo, we finished planking the deck, and then added the high-density inserts in high load areas, filled the screw holes and seams, and sanded it all smooth.  The deck interior is now ready for laminating.

All of the 12-oz bi-directional glass fabric is cut to length for the deck interior.  Since the lower hull interior was glassed earlier, we will overlap the deck laminate on to the lower deck at the gunwale.  Again, it will be extra challenging since it is difficult to reach inside now.  I may have to climb into the hull to ensure the glass is properly wetted, or even better Dawna will climb in.

I have also been preparing all of the flat panels we will need to build out the hull structure.  The photo shows the stack of foam core to be laminated on the vacuum table for the various bulkheads, floors, settee, bunks, etc.  Rather than punching a gazillion holes in the foam core to relieve trapped air during vacuum laminating, I'll laminate one side at a time.  This takes twice as much time on the table, but I find it preferable.  If I had it to do again, I would get the perforated foam sheets for the panels and save both the time and my patience.  Once laminated, we will start installing the panels in the hull and get this half done.

(Almost) done planking ...

 This weekend I spent some time forming and glueing the deck planks.  The only way to install these planks is from "inside" the hull.  Here is a lovely photo of your's truly taken by the photo-phenom, Catherine.  I spent many hours squatting on the gunwale, until I can now no longer feel my big toe!  Although not a large area to plank, it is time consuming and tiring because of the difficult access.  Luckily, Catherine offered me numerous opportunities to do other daddy-daughter activities, giving me occasional breaks.

 I had planned to complete the planking this weekend, but my back and toes had the final say on the matter.  I completed almost all of the planking, with just four planks remaining.  Here you can see the progress at the end of the day.  The board along the gunwale is what I walked on both to distribute my weight on the incomplete hull and to keep the surface relatively clean.

Here is another view from my perspective climbing into the hull.  Not exactly a La-Z-Boy recliner, but better than working underneath the hull!  Hopefully I'll finish the planking and prepare the surface for laminating after work during the week. Then I have a bunch of flat panels to laminate on the vacuum table.  More fun next weekend!

Let the planking begin!

 We prepared all of the planking for the port-side deck of the main hull today.  The forward deck can be formed as a single piece due to the minimal curvature in this area.  We still need to form and join the planks to the form frame.

Similar to the forward deck, the coaming just aft of the main cabin (lower left in photo) is also formed from a single piece of foam.  The deck is slightly thicker than the lower hull, but still forms easily.  Once laminated, it should make a strong surface to support the crew while they shake out a reef on a brisk sail.

Deck form frame

 We finished installing fairing strips to form the deck of the main hull.  You might notice the fold in the deck just aft of the third form frame where the cabin top meets the foredeck.  The cockpit area aft of the ninth form frame is built with flat plates cut from full size patterns, therefore no fairing strips are needed.  We will pre-glass these plates on the vac table soon.  The deck includes much less area than the hull below the gunwale, so we should be able to form the core and glass it quickly.

Here is a view of the deck form frame from the aft end.  The board laying on the gunwale is what I walked on to attach some of the fairing strips to the frame.  I will need to work on the inside when forming the foam core as well, so this board will come in handy to distribute my weight without damaging the incomplete hull.  The lack of easy access to the work surface is the trickiest part of building this section.

Thar be monsters here ...  This creepy bug was hanging out on my foam core.  It's about the size of a small dog ... well maybe a little smaller than that, but not much.  I decided to let it stay rather than risk screaming like a little girl when it jumps on me for touching its foam core!

Up to our glass in epoxy!

 Fear not loyal readers, we have returned at last with new and exciting reports of our trimaran construction adventures!  Its been about two months since our last update, and I wish I could say the hiatus was due to fantastic sailing in exotic locales, but alas we were just busy with other things.  Between vacations, and softball games, and getting the old monohull ready for the sailing season, and the occasional head cold, progress on the tri slowed to the pace of a ferroconcrete sloop on a windless morning.  Nonetheless, we did make some progress up to today, including filling and sanding the interior surface of the port side of the main hull in preparation for laminating.

Today was the "Big Day" when Dawna and I finally recommitted ourselves to transforming this construction from a work of modern art to a wind-driven hot rod worthy of Nereus's admiration.  So today was the first of four remaining glassing marathons leading to the completion of this boat.

Friday I sanded the entire surface with 80-grit to smooth the filler in the various screw holes, gaps, and other blemishes.  The filler was well cured, having sat untouched for about a month.  The surface was already nearly perfectly fair, thanks to my expert planking skills (I am sure Napoleon Dynamite would be envious of my skills).  Yesterday I precut all of the glass, including various reinforcements.  This morning I did some final blemish blending with epoxy filler prior to glassing.  Then Dawna and I started laminating.  As you can see in the photos, five hours later we had a beautiful .. . er, pool slide?!  Yeah, kinda looks like a water slide from this perspective, but in actuality it is the lower port side of the main hull.

I like the way this view accentuates the complex curves of the hull.  This inward bulge in the hull will eventually cradle the port float when folded, keeping the boat street legal when trailered, while still a speed demon on the water!  Next we will finish planking the upper section of the hull, including the deck and cockpit.  Then a little more laminating (more like a 10-km bike race than a 26-mile marathon), and we will be ready to add bulkheads.  More fun yet to come ...

Planked to the stern

 Finally, we have planked the lower port side of the main hull from bow to stern.  When I actually put time in working on the boat, the process went fairly quickly, but we have had quite a few distractions lately.  And it is a larger area than the float halves we built previously.  Of course, this is only the lower part of the hull.  There is still a whole lotta planking to do on the deck (to the left in the photo).  But that will have to wait for the glass lamination of the lower hull.  For now, I will enjoy the fleeting sense of accomplishment.

I know the hull is still pretty rough.  I haven't done any trimming of the edges, and only minimal grooming of the planked surface.  Nonetheless, you can really see the curves of the hull now.  Keep in mind the hull is on its side with the keel to the left in the photo.  The planks seams bonded together very cleanly and the hull form is flowing.  I guess building two-and-a-half float hulls helped develop our skill (yes, -and-a-half, recall we tossed out the first half for better quality once we got the experience under our belt).  Now we will go over the planked surface in detail cleaning the seams, filling the screw holes, and getting ready for glass.  We will also install high density inserts where needed for hardware and other reinforcing.  Lot's more work to come ...