Skimming and vacuuming

 This was a pretty good weekend for making progress on the port float and the beam support modules.  Here is a view of the bow after the outer side of the float was skim coated with a somewhat thin epoxy filler (1.125 cups microballoons + 150 mL epoxy).  The intent with the skim coat is to fill all the texture and provide enough thickness to blend in the edges of the reinforcements without excessive thickness that will just be sanded off.  I did the deck surface first (3 batches of 300 mL epoxy each) and then rolled the float over and skimmed the side (4 batches).  I will probably need to do a second light pass on low spots, but it should be minimal.

 Here's the skim coated float looking from the stern with the starboard float in the background (like a before and after shot).  I had planned to skim coat all three sides, but the day job interfered on Friday.  So I will try to coat the inner side one evening this coming week.  That will give the epoxy plenty of time to cure before the weekend when the real fun starts - more fairing!  But this is the last big fairing task on the floats, so I'll take my time and get it done.

Here is the vacuum press hard at work on the last side of the last set of foam boards being laminated for the support modules.  As I mentioned earlier, I chose to laminate each side individually rather than drill a million holes.  I did the first side in the morning and the other side in the afternoon.  This worked very well and was somewhat easier than trying to wet out the glass on both sides while trying to beat the cure-time clock.  Most of these boards are 72 inches long by 14 inches wide, so it takes some time to wet out two layers of glass on each side.  At the back of the table you can see the finished boards waiting to be cut to final shape.  The next step is to make a sheet of solid fiber-reinforced epoxy board for some very high load components.  This solid fiberglass board will also be made on the vacuum table to ensure it is flat and has the optimum ratio of glass to epoxy.

Send in the reinforcements ...

 This weekend we had to split our attention between the new boat and the old.  The first snow arrived slightly up the mountain just in time for the end of the sailing season.  So we pulled the monohull out of the water and brought her home. Back at Ye Olde Boat House, we finished shaping the bow on the starboard float.  With the hull rotated in the proper, upright orientation, I glassed the bow with two layers of 12-oz. bi-directional glass.  While waiting or the the first layer to kick, I laminated the various reinforcements in high load areas, and where hardware will be installed.  We are now ready for skim coating and final fairing (which is no trip to the fair!).

 I also spent lots'o time cutting fabric in preparation for laminating the foam sheets that I prepped last week.  Here is a shot of the vacuum laminating table all set up for vacuum work.  These will be the largest pieces I have vacuum laminated, and the sheets will take up most of the table (note vacuum pump relegated to the floor).  Rather than spending the next two weeks punching holes in the foam for two sided vacuum laminating, I decided to just glass one side at a time.  Although it will take twice as long under vacuum, I think I can finish in a long weekend.  I'll wet out the glass on the top surface, place under vacuum until initial cure, flip it over and repeat.

Here is a photo of all of the glass, foam, and vacuum layers pre-cut and neatly stacked, awaiting the start of the vacuum work.  This represents about four hours of measuring and cutting.  I could take up tailoring, but I doubt the fashion industry would go for glass-reinforced plastic suits (okay, maybe some fashion sub-cultures would go for it).

Shaping the port bow

 This past weekend I attached the foam bow and finished shaping it to match the hull.  I also sanded the entire hull in preparation for skim coating and final fairing.  I wanted to get the bow glassed and the reinforcements laminated, but we just didn't have the time.  The white stuff on the bow in the photo is a skim coat to fair the bow to the hull.  I already did this on the other side.  All in all, it is pretty easy to cut the bow to shape with a hand saw by using the hull as the guide for the slope.  I cut about 2 inches at a time going from keel to deck.  Making small cuts allowed me to correct frequently before going too far off course.  After trimming with the saw, I spent some time sanding the foam closer to the final shape with the long board.  It is important to minimize the sanding on the adjoining glass surfaces, especially around the high curvature areas at the deck and keel.  The filler putty then cleans up the details and fills any gouges and unwanted cuts.

Here is another view of the bow with the skim coat. In the zoomed view you will note it is still rough because I have yet to sand this side fair.  You will also notice the red and blue stripes along the leading edge.  No, this is not the new Captain America paint scheme!  I used the lines to help monitor the symmetry while trimming the foam.  The red is approximately the centerline, and the blue lines are the next layer of foam.  It isn't perfect but it is helpful.  After sanding and any follow up filling, I will stand the float up so we can laminate the bow with two layers of glass and apply the other reinforcements on the deck.  Sounds like I have plans for the weekend, yet again ...