Thursday, January 25, 2007

All Hull Panels Lofted and Cut



Laying out and cutting the hullsides is easier if you have a flat workbench at least 24 feet long....


Here are all the lower hull panels for both hulls....

I've been making sawdust again today. The weather was perfect for working outside in an open shed. I layed out the first three sheets of 6mm ply end to end on my workbench and measured and drew out the station lines that determine the hull panel curvature. Bulkhead positions were marked, everything was checked at least twice - both in feet and inches and in millimeters, just to be sure, then the first set of hull panels were cut. Each hull side requires three sheets of 6mm plywood, for a total of 12 sheets in all. This includes the straight one-foot wide sections that the topside panels are made from. After the first three panels were cut, I used them as templates to mark the remaining panels. All these panels will get two coats of epoxy on the inside surface before assembly. Since I'm planning to finish the inside of the boat bright, rather than painted, I'm taking care not to leave station lines and other marks on any panels where they will show, as once they are coated in epoxy they cannot be erased. The bulkhead lines won't matter, as they will be hidden by fillets and the bulkheads themselves.

The forecast is calling for another good day tomorrow, but I won't be boat building, instead I'll be sailing. I have to go to Biloxi early in the morning to estimate a teak deck job on a motoryacht, so while I'm there, of course I'll take Element out for a daysail. The wind is supposed to be 15-20 knots out of the east. Perfect.

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