Here we go again ...

At last, the first float (port side) is together and removed from the form frame.  It looks pretty good.  The third half (bottom in this photo) was the best yet, with almost no scalloping and very fair.  The float almost looks boat-like!  Once again, Dawna took care of the frustrating inside work by taping the rest of the deck seam.  There are still many details to finish:
- tape keel seam,
- add high density inserts for later hardware installation,
- install bow compression brace,
- cut out beam access holes,
- seal bow,
- seal stern,
- seal forward access port,
- fabricate large hatch structure and reinforcement,
- reinforce round inspection ports,
- initial fairing of foam core,
- exterior lamination,
- fabricate and install bow,
- glass bow,
- final fairing of exterior,
- paint,
- install hardware,
- build rest of boat,
- sail.

I'm sure we can finish these tasks in a weekend ... okay maybe two.  But for now, my priority is to complete the work with the form frame.  This means we are back to foam install for the forth (and final !!) float half.  This half will be joined with the first half to make the starboard float (which is definitely better than making the starboard sink, sorry couldn't resist ...).

You can see I started cutting the foam at the bow end.  I already cut all of the 4", 6", and 8" wide strips of foam, so all I have to do is cut to length.  I am using the same layout as the third half, and most of the tape on the frame is still in place, so I am hoping this will go pretty fast.  My goal is to finish the foam by Saturday, and maybe glass on Sunday.  Then another weekend to join the halves together.  So here goes ...

The first machined parts

Now that we are getting the float hulls joined up and focussing on details, we needed to start thinking about the chainplates.  I decided to go with the carbon fiber chainplates.  These require a custom thimble to wrap the carbon fiber over and a custom clevis to hold the turnbuckles.  So I drew up some drawings based on the details provided in the plans and went to Hand Precision Machining.  Robert Hand did a great job of machining these parts from 316 stainless.  For reference, the thimble is 2.75 inches long, so not too big. Of course machinists are not cheap, but Robert always seems to give a good break on pricing for personal jobs, so we were able to feed Catherine another day.  I know this is a chemical imbalance somewhat unique to engineering types like myself, but I really love the look and feel of nicely machined parts.  Hopefully Dawna won't mind if I put these pieces under my pillow tonight!  I'll post more updates when we start assembling the chainplates.

Bulkheads complete

As planned, Dawna and I finished taping the bulkheads in the port float.  You can see we also added the lower gussets on the forward bulkhead.  As discussed in the previous installment, we used our super-sophisticated filleting tool (1-1/4" pvc pipe) to make nearly perfect fillets with absolutely no talent or skill.  I am not sure if you can tell, but the fillets made through small holes with the pvc pipe are actually slightly nicer than those we struggled with in the open.

For the gussets, we tried using some foam fillets to make the process of working through small holes semi-blind a little easier.  In this photo, the foam has been added to the pre-glassed gussets.  We then glued the gussets and fillets to the bulkhead and stiffener with a thick epoxy putty.  We also used some putty to fill in the gap in the corner where the bulkhead, gusset, and stiffener all meet.  Then we taped the gusset to the bulkhead and stiffener on both sides.

And here is a closer shot of the final result.  Dawna did all of the taping on both the visible side and the blind back side.  She was having so much fun, I went to pick up Catherine from school while Dawna continued taping.  And she finished just as we got home ... Jackpot!  It looks fantastic, and it is very stiff.  This was a lot of effort to get the tape on both sides neat and fully doped with epoxy.  And on top of all of this, we also started taping the deck seam at the stern with left over epoxy.

  Here is the view Dawna  (and I) had to use to work on the areas that we couldn't see directly.  I can't seem to get my hand to move in the correct direction when working from a view in a mirror, but Dawna did it like a pro.  Both the gusset and bulkhead taping turned out at least as good as the tape work done in the open.  The biggest difference is we are now hobbling around like old timers from contorting our bodies trying to reach all the nooks and crannies.  I can honestly say that this was hard to do well and generally not very pleasant.  The good news is there are only two floats to build.  The bad news is this was only the first.  And we still have lots of details to finish, plus the fairing and laminating of the exterior surface.

Stay tuned for shots of the port hull free from the form frame ...

Like building a bottle in a ship ...

Dawna and I spent some time today taping the bulkheads to the third half.  Recall we already taped the bulkheads to the second half (upper half) while it was still in the frame.  Now we had to do all the same steps working through small holes in the deck of the float.  This included forming perfect fillets of putty, which was somewhat frustrating when everything was wide open.  I did start the day by cutting the lower half of each opening and removing some of the frame stringers to give us better access.

This is a view looking in from the stern at the aft bulkhead.  You can see the access hole that Dawna is working through.  Generally the options are 1) look through the hole at what you are working on, or 2) put your hand through the hole and do something, but you can't really do both things at the same time.  We did use mirrors to view the tape work on the gunwale and deck (seam along the same side as the hole).  But once you stick your hand in to do something, your arm tends to block the view.

At least the forward side of the shroud bulkhead and the aft side of the forward bulkhead are accessible through the large hatch.  Here Dawna is working on taping the shroud bulkhead.  Catherine was wondering if this is her room.

Even after a hard day of work, Dawna makes Tyvek look sexy!  I know I'm pretty excited.  Grrr, epoxy ...  By the end of the day, we completed 1.5 bulkheads out of a total of three.  We didn't start until the afternoon, so it wasn't as bad as it sounds, but it is certainly slower than working in an open hull.  We will probably finish this task next Friday, as well as taping the inside deck seam.  Then we will be ready to pull it out of the frame for finish work.

In this view of the shroud bulkhead, you can see the nice fillet and tape job.  The filleting started out a serious problem, but then we tried using a 4" long piece of 1-1/4" pvc pipe as the forming tool.  By keeping the length of the pipe at a slight angle to the seam, the pipe surface squeezed the excess putty into the seam and left a perfect fillet.  It only took a couple passes to fill all of the seam.  Then we just cleaned up the extra putty the tool pushed out of the way, and voila, a perfect fillet working through a small hole.  We were very excited about this discovery, truly the holy grail of filleting tools.  I just wish we tried it earlier.

Joining two halves

At last, we joined the second and third float hull halves together today.  Here I am next to my magnum opus.  Looks like I used too much glue and got my hand stuck to the hull.  No that would never really happen ... really!  Actually, the joining process went pretty smoothly.  Here you can see a few spring clamps and ply squares with screws holding the stern keel seam together.

The aft keel seam from a slightly different angle.  We didn't really clamp the seam together except on the extreme forward and aft ends.  Most of the length of the keel, the ply squares just keep the seam aligned with the frame.  That way any variations in the seam prep can fill in with the epoxy filler mix and keep the overall shape more true to the design.  The seam lines up nicely once the squares are in place to counter the springy-ness of the hull half.

Here's a broader view of the keel viewed from the bow end.  And there's the ever lovely Catherine.  Again you can see we used about a thousand wood ply squares and screws to hold the keel seam together while the epoxy cured.  The temperature is about perfect in the 70's (F not C!)  So the epoxy on the seams took a few hours to kick, which gave us time to apply the epoxy and secure the seams.  Dawna and I spent about two hours gluing the halves together.  Dawna used a zip-lock bag with a clipped corner to apply a bead of epoxy and filler along the seam, like decorating a very crunchy cake.  She wetted the seam on top and bottom with straight epoxy first to ensure good adhesion with the filler.

The deck seam was made even by installing wood bumpers along the edge of the seam prior to gluing.  The top half tends to spring out, so the bumpers hold it in line with the lower half.  I used packing tape to epoxy proof the bumpers prior to gluing, which worked well.  The straps are mostly being used to pull the deck seam in line at the bulkheads, rather than clamping the halves together.  You probably noticed we cut the deck openings prior to gluing, at least the upper half of each opening.  The forward and aft most openings will be filled after completing interior joins, but the big hole in the middle and three round holes are for access ports in the finished hull.

Catherine is checking out the interior space and admiring her parents' handy work.  We now have to do all of the interior joins along the keel and deck seams, as well as the bulkhead joins to the lower half through these holes.  I will cut out the lower half of the openings after the seams cure to give us a little more room for access.  Nonetheless, trying to make a perfect fillet through a 6 inch diameter hole is bound to be a challenge.  More fun to come ...

Pre-fitting float halves

At last, we have two float halves arranged as a whole float hull.  This is a view from the stern looking forward of the second and third halves in preparation for bonding.  The initial fit is good, accounting for the natural springy-ness of the hull out of the frame.  We will need to use some blocks and screws to hold the halves together at the seams when we apply the epoxy putty.

Here's a view inside the aft end showing the aft bulkhead.  I had pre-trimmed the bulkheads on the second half so putting these halves together will be easier.  I will have to trim the bulkheads on the first half we built (still on the storage rack) prior to joining to the fourth half (yet to be built).  You can see the fit of this bulkhead is very close to perfect with no extra trimming.  The forward bulkhead needs a little additional trimming, but not much.  I think the shroud bulkhead (in the middle) is pretty close also, but I can't see it very well.  We will spend some time cutting out the access holes in the deck (to the right in these photos) so we can fillet and tape the bulkheads, keel, and deck seam.  Should be fun trying to work through 6" diameter holes.

Prep for glass works

Once again, it's time to glass the inside of a float half, this being the third half.  We prepped the foam core by trimming the edges, grating off all glue overflow from the seams, patching all screw holes and any other imperfections with epoxy putty, and sanding the entire surface.  It is very fair, no doubt thanks to Catherine's skilled effort.  We also marked the surface with the placement of the stiffener and the trim pattern of the stern.

Then we were ready to cut all of the glass fabric to size.  Here you can see all of the pieces of glass neatly laid out on the workbench. I mark the pieces with sticky notes to help avoid confusion when we are trying to race the epoxy kick time.  On the first hull half I marked the pieces with a marker, but the ink bleeds in the epoxy and makes a mess.  Sticky notes help keep things neat (assuming I remember to take them off before applying epoxy).  I write out the order that we apply each piece of glass to allow sections to start to cure before applying additional reinforcing, and to keep track of what layer goes on top of the others.  The result is a neat and shimmery glass job with minimal curses.  You can also see my respirator mask for mixing microballoons.  Definitely a requirement for working with microscopic glass balloons that tend to spontaneously evaporate like a cup of dry ice.

Here's a picture of Catherine explaining how the halves will be combined in to a whole float hull.  Either that or she saw a cool bug walking around up there ...

Dawna had to help a friend, so I only had her expert help for the first half of the glass work today (the nice half you see here).  I did alright though, after carefully studying her technique, not that I'm going to show you.  Trust me, my part looks almost as good as her half.

Actually, it all turned out very nice, though my epoxy decided to kick half way through the fifth section, which required some quick mixing and extra effort working in the new batch.