Moulds rigged. Cleaning. Reorganizing.

So, the moulds are rigged and braced and I'm happy with how it will be working on and in them. They have been around collecting dirt for probably 15 years, so I decided to start with a round of dishwash detergent and a scrub. I washed the trailing mould, which was the worst and need the most attention before use.

Ok, so here is the picture similar to yesterdays leading edge. It is possible to see the damage to the gel coat.  I think I'll start with wet sanding, and then scim with epoxy fairing compound. Then wet sand again and apply Chemlease® 15 Sealer and  then Chemlease® PMR 90+.

Close up showing the built in "prebend", and more surface imperfections
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I'm still throwing out scrap from the workshop and moving around a few things.  Have to roll out and cut 6+m carbon fabric pieces  in a few days, I hope.

Setting up the mast moulds

I spent most of Sunday cleaning up in and around the workshop and I filled a trailer with scrap materials to be taken to the dump.  Another pile is rising for when the trailer is emptied.  Then I started to set up the moulds in an appropriate working height with straight and steady support. The mast will be made from four quarts made from two moulds and a central shear web.
I will have the two moulds lined up next to each others with walking space between them, here the leading half is on it's new legs.

I removed a lot of old epoxy and inspected the mould surface.  It seems to have gotten some beating up when the last piece was removed, so some filling and fairing will be necessary.

Gel coat ripped off trough to the glass

Another missing part of the gel coat

A photo of the leading half, seen from the spreader position.  I will not use spreaders on this mast, the size and construction makes the section stiff enough without.  Saved weight and drag, and a lot cleaner for the jib and handling on the trailer.  My phone inside to give a sense of the dimensions.

Clearing the workshop

Last night, I had Gudmund, Ståle and Guttorm over to help me carry the main hull out of the workshop.  Although this was quite a trouble free manoeuvre, we all had to make an effort to lift it.  I'd guess somewhere between 150 and 200 kg.  Here the team after removing the workshop wall, before removing the hull

 It's a trailerhull!  Guttorm is trying out alternative rims for the trailer.

Mast moulds in the workshop.  I have to give them a fair bit of TLC before starting building, they were last used sometime in the 90'es  as far as I know.  Have to extend the "bulkheads" and mount it on a stand in working height.  Then there are some minor repairs to the gel coat.

The snow is here!

Yesterday the first snow this season arrived.  That was what the rest of the trailer parts did as well. So I worked until late (ie early) to get all the parts fitted.  This is how far I got.

This is the basis of the bow pole after external lamination.  The party balloon lamination on the inside is put on hold due to trailer finishing.

Tonight I kept on with the trailer.  Tomorrow I will have a couple of friends over to help me carrying the boat out of the workshop and on to the trailer.  It will be exciting to see how well it fits.
This trailer modifications have really surprised me time consume wise.  I haven't counted the hours, but there are a lot of them. And I have to pick it all apart again for galvanizing.  And the electrical system is not ready.  And the light plate.  It's a whole project all by it self!

Bow pole in progress

The "ears" stuck well to the tube, but had to be laminated as well.  I sanded down the corners and prepared for a length of carbon BD sleeve to overlap from tube to "ears".  Tomorrow I will put a length inside the tube and blow up a balloon inside it.

Then I started to prepare for the bobstay/screecher tack carbon anchor.  Slots in the tube being made.

The core consisting of HD Divinicell and microfiber saturated epoxy was wrapped in unidirectional fiber.

Plan was to insert while still tacky, but I used more UNI than planned and the slots was too small so I didn't get it in like I had planned.  Ended in a usable position though.

Screacher tack showing hairy uni due to working too much uni trough too small slot.  But a very tight fit.

Decided to try the heat shrink tube again, but now using peel ply inside, so just for compressing purposes.  The fabric covering the smooth transition between tube and bar.  Tube cut to see if it will release this time.  Seems it will let the peel ply go.

More bow pole and trailer

Attaching the "ears" at the basis of the bow pole, or klyverbom as I prefer to address it.  This is the link between the Baugspryd (bow web) and klyverbom (bow pole).

 

Along the carbon tube you can see the remnants of the "special treated heat shrink tube" available from Soller Composites. It is supposed to apply some degree of compression to a laminate when heated and be releasable.  I have now done several attempts, and I have scrapped carbon worth a few hundred dollars in an attempt to make this work, but I don't seem to get the hang of it.  I've been in contact with the supplier, who offers to  supply more tubing (not carbon, as some attempts should be anticipated) which I'm definitely not interested in.  He suggests the problem is due to my lack of experience with composite work.  This may well be true, in which case I think the product should not be marketed the way it is. (-besides the heat shrink part, this method works very well).  My advise to other builders out there: Stay away from this product.  I do, however, like the carbon uni and BD sleeves from Soller. Anyway, I finally managed to make what I judge to be a structurally sound tube, the remnants of the shrink tube will be sanded off (bulk was removed with utility knife).

This is the mould and in it the core of what will be an attempt to make carbon anchors for bob stay (Vaterstag) and screecher tack (klyver).  I didn't really see how I would fit a saddle eye in a proper manner to the tube.  Besides, this is nice prep work for the mast attachments, some of which I am really still in the planning phase for.

Bunk board and side supports sealed with epoxy.

Another set back for the trailer

I did most of what I could do with the trailer, with the parts available so far.  The rest was supposed to be finished last week but isn't.  I have to decide if I'm going to wait for the trailer to be ready to receive the boat, or if I should keep it on the building stands outside the workshop.  I really should clear the workspace to get the mast building going, as I have to give the sailmaker the mast prebend before he can start the sail.

Anyway, a couple of trailer photos:

 Lights being fitted

Extension for the light plate.  This turned out to be too floppy, I have to do something about it, either more stable extensions or a much lighter plate, or both.

While I'm not able to decide on how to move further I have continued with smaller projects in the workshop. I finally got the kevlar laminated on to the cockpit seats. In the background the Harken CB midrange windward sheeting system, I ended up buing it from Mauri Pro Sailing, fast and complication free delivery. I have asked several Norwegian dealers for about a year now, I got the first quote the same day as this was delivered.

Then I finally got around to do the final sanding of the rudder moulds.  I have not been looking forward to this, but now it's done.  Applied mould sealer, still to apply 5 layers of release agent, then ready to shoot another high quality rudder. I have to make the rudder case as well, in order to start the tiller and do the final trimming to the aft edge of the hull.

I also started playing with mixing my own fairing compound.  I was able to find a recipe for a thick, dry, easy sandable compound, but I have not yet found the proper tool for applying the stuff.  I will try to pick up a lot of useful hints described in this and this link for the main hull fairing.
In the background the first small steps in the making of an "optional carbon bow pole" visible.

Really no much progress, I think it is because I have not been able to find time for boatbuilding lately.

Trailer news

I got some of the parts for the trailer.  They are really professionally made, and if they all were made to plan I would have been really happy now. 

Unfortunately, the brackets for attaching the bunk board to the trailer were not. They look really good, exactly like I drew them,

but a closer look reveals the problem.  It will not be easy to pass a bolt trough here, even though I designed an oversized hole compared to the planned bolt dimension.

The upper articulating part of the adjustable double bow roller

And the last lights to get everything per regulations, perhaps.  Even the lawyer within the government who tried to help me to interpret the highly complex formulated regulations gave up.

I made the reinforcing laminations on the bracket/traveller join.

Limited progress

I fixed the engine mount with 8 M8 through bolts.  The bulkhead seemed stiff.  The mount works, but not perfect.  Here the mount in top position of four, and engine tilted up in second position of three.

Engine fully tilted.

 I also spent some time sanding the traveller mounting areas, making ready for some layers of reinforcements at the joint positions.  The telescopic and swing up stainless swim ladder I bought is just a bit too wide to fit on starboard side.  I'm working on a solution, but it's all still in my head.

No trailer parts.

Engine mount. Traveller bracing

This is probably way overkill, but I don't like the idea of the engine on an "extension" is causing the bulkhead to flex back and forth.  So, behind the cut outs with massive epoxy filling around the bolt holes in the bulkhead, I mounted a 20 mm HD foam plate, and from that I made stiffening stringers in all directions.  The stringers are covered with a layer of 500 gsm UD carbon, and then one layer of 400 gsm DB (45/45).  Now I expect the bulkhead to be very stiff and no flex.  The exciting part is now how well the aft cabin will serve as a resonance chamber, amplifying the engine noise and vibrations.....

Hurray, I was able to remove the mould plates from the traveller braces.  Although the laminate from yesterday was quite thin (approx 1,5 mm), this was enough to give the traveller absolute stability.  The difference was sensational, especially taken into account the braces was not very stiff at all. I doubled the lay up, making them about half the thickness of the main brackets.  Hope that will do, I'm most concerned of direct traumas.  Here is a close up anterolateral view:

And posterolateral:

The traveller might even be less prone to snagging ropes with this extra bracing...

Still no more parts for the trailer.

Miscellaneous

Lots of work and other obligations have set limits for boat progress this week.  And I still only have my phone for photographing, so picture quality sucks.

I tacked the main carbon traveller to the brackets. 

I was not happy with the result, as the whole system, although not giving after to perpendicular pull, seems quite floppy when subjected to forces in any other directions.  So I decided to brace it up with diagonal carbon brackets from traveller end to deck level.  I made up moulds from plywood and glued together a 4 cm strip from unidirectional and bi-directional carbon fibre.  Not very thick laminate, I think I will beef it up further when (if) I get the mould plates removed.

I have not yet received the trailer parts, but some progress has been made to the trailer as well.  Here trial fitting fenders with modified brackets.

The fenders have been mounted, hopefully in a manner where the 2,2m 30x30 square tube that I have ordered but not been able to pick up yet, will still fit into the main frame of the trailer.  The purpose of these tubes will be to extend the trailer and light/licence plate 1,6m when carrying the boat.  I finished bending and cutting the 10x30 rectangular steel tubes whose only purpose is to make sure I get the number 250 written in the registration papers, under the heading :  "Maximum trailer width, cm".

I also received a "box of goodies" the other day (loads of Ronstan orbit blocks and some other stuff).  Unfortunately not the jib track and cars, which are the first items I need, in order to give the sail maker the exact measures for the self tacking Glider(R) jib

 Nice to play around with what was in the box though, as here the blocks for the 6:1/24:1 main sheet system (mainsheet #12).

For main traveller my first choice was the Harken CB midrange windward sheeting, but none seemed to be interested in selling me the system so I opted for the Ronstan custom windward sheeting.  This turned out to be outrageously expensive, so now I have ordered the Harken system from Texas.

Tonight I also did the first steps in preparing fossil fuel propulsion of the Panta Rei. I had to make a considerable cut back in the hull.  Didn't feel really good, but no way around it as I have come to an understanding with myself that I need to have an engine even though it is a sail boat.

The Yamaha being lined up in order to establish the exact positioning of the engine bracket. The bulkhead obviously needs some HD inserts as well as a couple of stiffening stringers. The engine will tilt, then swing up and forward when not in use.

As the ultra long high trust model is 5 kg extra (don't see why) and almost double price, I opted for the regular long engine.  I have been breaking it in on the Telstar, and I was surprised by it's hugely improved trust in both forward and reverse compared to my old Suzuki 6hp, as well as an extra knot of boat speed at a much more tolerable noise level.  I'm carrying the standard 81/2" x 71/2" propeller, but I suspect I will find out if the 9" dual trust propeller available will be an even better match for a tri.  Anyway, it seems I'm able to get the propeller a fair bit under water, I hope the long version will work tolerable in the kind of sea (no wind) where motoring is likely.

Tonight I also did the first steps in preparing fossil fuel propulsion of the Panta Rei.