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 ...