Sunday, May 01, 2011

Beam Sheathing is Finished

At last tedious work of wrapping all the beam parts in fiberglass is finished.  I'm now in the process of fairing and priming them:

Here are a few photos showing some of the steps in sheathing the webs, top plates and front fairings:

This photo shows the front beam to the left, with the custom anchor roller brackets I made, and the aft beam to the right.  In the middle is the much smaller aft netting beam.  The mast beam is holding the hulls together, so I have to swap them around and work on two at a time while one is on the boat.

Fairing all these surfaces is multi-step process of sanding and applying epoxy fairing compound.

At this point in the build, I've come to rely on these tools for just about all filleting and fairing:  They are all flexible blade drywall/putty knives of various sizes.  The round ended ones like the one shown here are made by shaping these cheap blades with a belt sander.  After using cardboard, wood, plastic and other filleting tools, I've discovered these work best and make the neatest fillets.  Best of all, they can be used indefinitely if you either wipe them clean when the epoxy is still uncured or sand it off afterward.

Right now, the partially-assembled cockpit box is serving as a work table and catch-all space for tools and supplies:

Here's a couple of shots of the aft netting beam, which still looks rough because it needs a lot of sanding:

I've added lashing cleats to the inboard sides of the hulls at the sheer stringer.  Since it is not part of the structure holding the hulls together, this beam will only get lashed on the inboard side.

5 comments:

John said...

What a beautiful boat.

John said...

What a beautiful boat.

Scott B. Williams said...

Thanks John! It's been a lot of work to get to this point.

Anonymous said...

Your definitely doing quality work. So whats your best guestimate on launching? I know you have a pretty full plate with books and all. How is building Element II give you a break from mental stress of writing?

Jim

Scott B. Williams said...

Jim,

I hope to have everything built and painted and rigging done before winter. Considering the canvas work, wiring and other outfitting details, launch probably won't happen until early next year, hopefully before spring.