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Progress!
Okay, here's a shot of
Progress!
Okay, here's a shot of the glass cloth I was talking about using]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/Glass_cloth.jpg[/img]
I've included a close-up to show the difference between what I've referred to as open weave (right) and closed weave (left). The open weave cloth was easily molded to the shape of the hull, no so with the closed weave cloth.
And here's what it looks like when it's all stuck down on the hull and quick pass with the 80 grit paper:
And again from the rear quarter:
While I was waiting for the epoxy to cure, I also had a go at making the sail. Once again, this was done with foam for speed and simplicity. Because of the amount of rounding necessary at the top of the sail, I chose to make the top 1/2" out of balsa. This actually worked out very well when I went to taper the sides of the sail because it gave me a clear depth to sand down to. The basic construction process was as follows: I started out by hot-wiring a piece of foam to the correct height for the sail minus 1/2". To this I Super-77'd a piece of 1/16" plywood to act as a base. Next, glue a paper template (which defines the foot-print of the sail) to the plywood. Cut this out on the bandsaw and set aside. Now, cut out the top portion of the sail (a little bit smaller than the base of the sail) from 1/2" balsa and glue to the top of the sail being careful to get it right in the center. Now sand away exposed foam and round the top corners of the sail. Voila! Nearly instant sail. As seen in the photos above, the sail also has a first coat of epoxy painted on. One thing I discovered when glassing the hull is that the foam has a real propensity to suck epoxy right out of the cloth. (On the hull this has resulted in a few dry spots in the 6oz cloth which may become an issue down the road.) To avoid this I wanted to try to seal the foam with an initial coat of epoxy, then I'll put some cloth down to harden up the surface for finishing.
Okay, here's a shot of
Progress!
Okay, here's a shot of the glass cloth I was talking about using]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/Glass_cloth.jpg[/img]
I've included a close-up to show the difference between what I've referred to as open weave (right) and closed weave (left). The open weave cloth was easily molded to the shape of the hull, no so with the closed weave cloth.
And here's what it looks like when it's all stuck down on the hull and quick pass with the 80 grit paper:
And again from the rear quarter:
While I was waiting for the epoxy to cure, I also had a go at making the sail. Once again, this was done with foam for speed and simplicity. Because of the amount of rounding necessary at the top of the sail, I chose to make the top 1/2" out of balsa. This actually worked out very well when I went to taper the sides of the sail because it gave me a clear depth to sand down to. The basic construction process was as follows: I started out by hot-wiring a piece of foam to the correct height for the sail minus 1/2". To this I Super-77'd a piece of 1/16" plywood to act as a base. Next, glue a paper template (which defines the foot-print of the sail) to the plywood. Cut this out on the bandsaw and set aside. Now, cut out the top portion of the sail (a little bit smaller than the base of the sail) from 1/2" balsa and glue to the top of the sail being careful to get it right in the center. Now sand away exposed foam and round the top corners of the sail. Voila! Nearly instant sail. As seen in the photos above, the sail also has a first coat of epoxy painted on. One thing I discovered when glassing the hull is that the foam has a real propensity to suck epoxy right out of the cloth. (On the hull this has resulted in a few dry spots in the 6oz cloth which may become an issue down the road.) To avoid this I wanted to try to seal the foam with an initial coat of epoxy, then I'll put some cloth down to harden up the surface for finishing.
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