Out in high winds.

I was out on Sat. with the local club.
Conditions where 10-15 knots with sustained gusts of over 20. The problem I had was with steering. The rudders I am using where designed for my old 18sq for use in the summer on the lake here, where the winds are 0-4 knots. So they are very small. I am going to put some NACRA rudders on it until I build some new ones.

Out last weekend (10.3.2009)

The wind was very light. I am fooling around with mast placement and I had it set to far back. A the boat wanted to do was round up and stall. I am waiting on a new dolphin striker shaft ( I can't find 9/16" X 18 SS threaded rod anywhere) so I'm not going to fuss about the mast position to much, because the ball it sits on might move up a little bit.

More Video

Out in Better conditions.

Went out yesterday in better conditions then last weekend, wind was 5-8 knots with 30dig. shifts.
I was pleased with the speed in the conditions.
I need to work on the mast rotation system and a new rudders and rudderheads.

Orchids

Just up the road from the lake where I sail there is a green house that grows orchids so we decided to stop on the way last weekend. Picked up a few new specimens to add to the collection.








If you are in the area of Bucks County Pa. stop in http://www.parksideorchids.com/index.htm

Video

In the water at last.

Went up to the local lake to try it out for a few hours. Air was very light 3-4 knots and there was nothing to compare with as far as boat speed was concerned. How do the French say it "such is life".







This is one of my favorite planes ( stearman biplane) after a christen-eagle, we have a few of them in the area. And they fly over the lake often.

By the way, it's Lake Nockamixon.
And the local sail club is http://www.nockamixonsailclub.org/index.html

Platform on the trailer.

I pulled the trailer out of the woods and put new wheels and tires on it. Then put the cross beams and cradles on the trailer. Maybe next week I will get it in the water.

Brackets for traveler.

Brackets for the traveler are made from a base of 4mm Okoume with 2 layers of carbon bonded with a vacuum bag and the curved parts are made Kevlar and 4 layers of carbon on a 4" tube (waxed) and then tightly wrapped with peel ply. Then cut and glued together and 3-4 more layers of carbon added at the joints and loaded surfaces.

Making progress

Grand Ma Ma out to check thing out.
Bend on the sail.. need to trim the mast.
Mock up the traveler braces, and rudder placement.

Back

I assembled the hulls and beams to measure the trampoline so I can have it changed to fit the A-cat size. Going from a boat that was 12' wide to one that is 7.5' is a challenge. I also bent the traveler track to fit the sail size. While I had the trampoline on, I marked up the hull to add the reinforcement for the tramp lacing points.

progress -- none

I've got the hulls in two coats of primer and the rudders and rudder heads are done...BUT!
I am in Ghana for ten days and not making any progress on the boat.
I was hoping to have it in the water for a few weeks before Lake H.
but I'll be lucky to get into the water by the end of Sept.
??How do the French say it, such is life.

Platform weights 108.6 lb.

Platform weights 108.6 lb. but it needs a little filler primer, paint, etc.

Bedding the Beams

Bedding the beams in a mixture of thick epoxy and cabosil, then drilling the hole for the retaining studs. I am using 1/4-20 X 3.5 inch SS threaded rod for the studs, these are lighter then I used in my last 18sq meter but I think they have adequate pull out strength.

All work will stop when Les is out of town.

Well it's back to South America again.
For corporate reasons it's an undisclosed location.
I expect to be working on the boat next week.

Cut the beams.

Cut the beams and made the cradles to hold the hulls in place while the resin sets when I bed the beams.

Micro-Glass Bubbles

Using Micro-Glass Bubbles and thick epoxy to fill over the joint tape.
The bottom shot shows to recessed box for the center-board trunk.

I'm in the Dominican Republic.

I'm in the Dominican Republic for a while so no work is getting done on the boat. Guess who the man on the horse is, it's not who you would expect.

Second Hull glued together.

I glued the second hull together tonight. Will start taping the seams tomorrow.

Two halfs glued together.

Glued together two hull halfs with West System Six10. It's weight 38 lb. with out the transom some seam tape, fairing and paint.

Two hull halfs waiting.

There are the second pair of hull halfs waiting for the interor to go in.
I guess I should make the centerboard trunks.




Sorry about the quality of the photos, I guess I should take the camera to the shop and stop using my phone!

Installing Bulkheads

Installing Bulkheads, The bulkheads are made up of 5mm Okoume plywood with a 2 layers of 5oz glass on them. Then there are blocks of western red cedar for anchoring studs that will attach the cross beams. These will all be fillet and glassed into place.

The last hull half out of the mold.

The last hull half out of the mold.
This weekend I will trim the edges, and fit the bulkheads.

Bulkheads built

Glassing 4mm plywood then vacuum bagging for bulkheads.

Second part out of the mold.

The second part is out of the mold. This time after I started the bagging and got a good seal I closed up the room and turned on the heater. After 9 hours at 120 degrees (F) I shut everything down and let it set for 24 hours. After the huls are together I will make a small foam (pink stuff) oven and post cure them at about 140 degrees.

First part out of the mold.

This is the first hull half out of the mold. It's weight is 18lb with out any of the interior parts.

Need room in the workshop.

So I need room in the workshop. I moved the plug for the mold down to the wood pile where I store some of my old masts and the tramp for my old 18Sq. On a lark I put the plug under the tramp and it look pretty OK. Things that make you go hum . . .

First hull part started.

I received 75LBs of epoxy on Wednesday and finished cutting the peelply and breather mat last night so I did the first layup this morning. The outside layer is 2 layers of Style 6580 - 5.7 oz/sq yd - S-2 Glass and a strip of 5" wide and 17' long along the keel area. The inter layer is also 2 layers of 5.7 oz S glass with local reinforcement for bulkheads and other fittings.

Glass cut and ready for layup.













Outer skin in place and most of the core.

Divertimento

So I'm on my way home from work (on the New Jersey Turnpike) and I came across this ASSHAT driving in the middle lane at 5mph below the speed limit watching his iPod.
If you know this guy, tell him to watch his porn at the office like everyone else!

Tool to create the Center Board Box

This is the tool to create the box to fit the center board trunk.
The box is 5" longer the the trunk, so the centerboard may be
moved if needed.