Week 11 Photos - Oliver's first day, more laminates and fairing

The start of our week.

Drew set up with the belt sander.  First, the sharp edges where power planed off.  Then they were belt sanded, and then went over with a file board.

Before.

After.

The finished fairing of the 6 laminates that were stacked on top of each other.  Each layer was faired back about 6 inches.  You can see how each layer crosses the next.

Brendan spiles a laminate and oliver checks the blocking at the turn of the bilge.  Here, the laminates are being dry fitted, soon to be lathered with epoxy glue.

Some of the tools we use, and a different perspective.

Here we begin to cover up the last bits of cedar planks.  You can really see how flexible that Fir laminate is!

The Last Shot of The Week.  Oliver wipes up the last of the glue from the 7th laminate layer.  This is the first layer to cover the entire boat, and the second to last layer.  These are full length laminates going from keelson to shear.

Week 10 Write Up - 6 laminate layers plus aft section

Sorry for the late post on Week 10.  It was another week of attaching the cold molding laminates.

By the end of the week we have 6 layers working up to the stem where each layer gets smaller and smaller.  We've also begun gluing the 7th layer starting in the stern.  The hardest part was working the bend from the chine up the hull and bend where the skeg goes up.  One board has to make both of those angles, which are the sharpest in the boat.  

Also, in between each new layer of laminates, the hull is percussion sounded with a small hammer to check for air pockets.  If any are found, and not many have, a small hole is drilled and epoxy injected with a syringe.

I am keeping a tally of how many laminates get put on, and we're already over 400 boards.  I thought of keeping track of how many staples, but that would be nearly impossible to keep track of.  

Next week my friend and fellow IMPALA sailor Oliver will join us for a few days.

Week 10 time lapse clip

Week 10 time lapse clip.

-PHOTOS Week 10- 6th laminate layer, going on 7

We begin the week by removing the old blocks and fairing the layer put on last friday.  

Drew dry fits and spiles a laminate for the 5th layer.

looking down onto the first laminate of the 7th layer.  This board will just us our angle fore and aft for the following boards and was one of the most difficult to bend thus far.

Here, you can really see the stress on some of these laminates.  Particularly the furthest one to the right.

Brendan shapes the end of a laminate to butt it in against the two layers of fiberglass at the stern.

Dave sounds each laminate layer with a rubber hammer looking for any voids or air pockets that may have formed under the laminates.  If any are found a hole is drilled and thickened epoxy is injected with a syringe.  Not many have been found.

Drew and Dave work on dry fitting the 7th layer of laminates at the stern.

The 6 layers of 1/8th inch Fir laminates.  This boat will be able to break ice when it is finished.  These 6 layers will get covered with two more that span the entire boat.

Looking down at the stern of the boat, where the laminates take a sharp bend up the skeg.  Most of them allowed the bend, but some needed to cut to fit.

Here, the laminates at the stern are wiped with alcohol after being glued and stapled.  Notice all the blocks with screws holding the laminates down at the severe bend at the skeg.

The Last Shot of The Week.  6 laminate layers are glued and stapled forward of the aft end of the keelson, and we've begun the 7th layer at the stern and skeg that will eventually cover the entire boat.

-Week 9 Write Up- The Cold Molding Laminantes begin!

In the beginning of the week, we had sanded all the fiberglass we finished setting last Saturday in preparation for installing the 1/8 inch Fir veneers.  By the end of the day on Monday, we had already begun dry fitting them onto the boat.  This process will repeated for a few weeks at least, as we have up to eight layers of veneers in some areas, and it goes like this:  First, Brendan will map out with a magic marker exactly where the layer of laminates will go and this changes depending on which layer we are on ( I will work on uploading a photo of our laminating schedule).  Then, we will dry fit a board in the middle of the layout and work fore and aft.  Each board after the first one, has to fit snug and thus has to be spiled down and custom fitted to the one it butts against.  Some boards require a lot of spiling, others none at all.  As we do more, we get more efficient and it moves faster along.  Each board is tacked on with small nails which can easily be pulled out and re-used.  Once the entire layer is dry fitted, we start from one end, pulling off two laminates at a time and mixing anywhere between 20-46 ounces of thickened Mas epoxy.  Both the hull and laminate is generously coated, and the laminate is fitted back on the hull, this time being stapled down using plastic staples which are designed to stay in the boat without rusting, corroding, or oxidizing.  Where the laminates cover fiberglass, a plastic coated screw and block are used to hold it down tight, then the screw is removed, since the fragile staple will not penetrate the glass.  It is also important to note that each layer of laminate criss-crosses the hull at a 50 degree angles to ensure maximum rigidity.

Once the entire layer is glued, it cures overnight and is faired smooth the next morning with a belt sander and finally a 36 grit random orbiter, in order to rough up that layer for the glue to stick on the next layer.  

By Friday evening, we had installed 173 laminates and completed the first and second layer.  However, this does not mean the entire boat is covered, as you will see in the Last Shot of The Week.  Because of the specific areas which receive more laminates then others, the final two layers will cover the entire boat bow to stern and will be the largest sections that we will do.

With two teams working on each side of the boat, we can move pretty quickly, but its hard to tell exactly how long it will take.  Another week or two at least.

Here is the week 9 time lapse clip:

- PHOTOS WEEK 9 - Cold Molding the MC-30 hull

On monday, after a quick fairing of the fiberglass, we were quick to begin attaching the 1st layer of Fir laminates as you see here.

A gap in between the 1st layer of laminates exposes the beautiful cedar planks while we glue and staple.

Brendan staples on a Fir laminate for the 1st layer.

The first of 44 laminates of the second layer on the STBD side.

Brendan and Drew fit on the first couple of laminates for the 2nd layer.

A nice profile shot showing the second layer of cold molding laminates on top of the 1st layer.

The process of dry fitting the laminates.  here the second layer is complete on the right, and the left is being attached on top of the 1st layer.  Eventually, we are able to use the trimmings as the laminates get smaller and smaller towards the ends.

Dave wipes down the squeeze out from the 2nd layer of laminates.

Here you can see how we take off one laminate from the 2nd layer, exposing the 1st layer, in order to glue and re staple it to the hull.  Taken from ontop of the keelson.

Here is the second layer of laminates from ontop of the keelson Friday evening.

The 2nd layer of laminates held in by plastic staples and plastic coated screws with blocking.

The Last Shot of The Week.  the boat has its first two layers of Fir Laminates on.   On Friday, we began gluing and stapling the 2nd layer, where you see the wet wood in the shape of a triangle.

- Week 8 Write Up - Whisky Plank, fairing, and applying Fiberglass

I cant believe its November already.  The hull is now complete and we are moving into new territory.  

By Tuesday, we had finished installing all cedar planking.  As the whisky plank went up that afternoon, we held off our celebrations until after work, and wasted no time in fairing the hull.  Three levels of sanding was done to achieve a perfect fairness from stem to stern.  First, the entire hull was gone over with a belt sander in broad sweeping motions to remove any noticeable bumps and un-fairness.  After that, we attacked the hull with three foot sanding boards in a criss crossing motion at 45 degree angles.  After everything was to our liking, and we had thought the boat was completely fair, Brendan has us go over the boat again, feeling with our hands and searching for bumps that we missed previously.  These bumps were marked in pen and planed out, then faired to perfection with the sanding board.  This sounds like a very long process, and indeed it would be solo, but with three people working at it, it took a full two days, which is pretty good.  Brendan commented by saying that this was one of the most fair hulls he has seen right after planking, a notable compliment to both Alfie and the naval architect Matthew Smith.  

Once the hull was fair, we went over any low spots with a special thickened epoxy, and also filled in the screw holes that we made in securing the planks to the molds as Dave cut out the slot in the keelson for the centerboard.  Also, nail indents were filled where the fiberglass lay up will be, which is around the stem, keelson, skeg, horn timber, and stern.  These fillings were again sanded to assure smoothness and fairness. Brendan created and glued on an outer stem piece and it was shaped to a fine point.  Afterwards, I rounded it over so it would accommodate the fiberglass cloth.  Then, the ultra thick, double weave fiberglass cloth was fitted, cut, and marked to its specific locations.  Over 10 quarts of epoxy was used to wet out the cloth.  The epoxy was applied with paint rollers, then the air bubbles were removed with special fiberglass serrated rolling pins.  Cloth was applied to the stem and two layers for the keelson.

On Saturday, Brendan and I came in to finish up the fiberglass clothing of the skeg, where three layers are applied, and two for the horn timber, and two also for the stern.  In there hours, we were able to complete this and call it a day.

After this, the Magic 30 is reinforced in many respects.  When this boat is completed, it will be stronger then any wooden boat that I know.

There is a new system for the time lapse updates.  Instead of updating the entire video, I will cut it into week clips, so you wont have to fast forward or watch the older video to get to the new video.  When I get time, all previous posts will correspond. Enjoy!

week 8 clip

-PHOTOS- Whisky Plank, Fairing, Fiberglass

Brendan fits in a small cedar plank aft of the skeg.

Here, the planks are complete in the stern.  The meet each other beautifully, rounding the skeg.  The clamp is holding up the table where we stored the planks on top of the boat.

The starboard side of the boat is completely planked, and only a few more to go on port.  Notice the beautiful fir blocking installed under the keelson to prevent water from getting trapped in an unreachable spot.

The second to last plank gets screwed in.  Above that, the last plank will be put in place, covering the last bit of darker wood which is the keelson.

Here it is apparent that there is no more space for planking!

Two full days were spent fairing the boat.  Starting with the belt sander.

A footprint left in cedar dust during the fairing process.

Brendan opens the bottle of Maker's Mark in celebration of putting on the last plank Tuesday.

Here, she is all faired out, and you can notice the shaping done to the area below the keelson where the saildrive engine shaft will come out. She is ready for fiberglass.

After Alfie's visit, we were able to adjust the location of the centerboard slot, and cut it out of the keelson.  Later, we removed the molds inside so we could drape fiberglass cloth down.

Cutting to size the fiberglass cloth and marking its location on the skeg, keelson, stem, horn timber, and stern.

From inside you can see the fiberglass cloth hanging down through the center board slot/keelson.

The last shot of the week.  The boat is all faired, and any low spots have been filled with thickened epoxy.  The keelson has two layers of cloth and the stem has one layer.  In the foreground, the cloth for the skeg, horn timber, and stern rests before being glued. (these get put on by Brendan and I on Saturday)

- Week 7 Write Up - The whisky plank is in sight

Another week of planking has past and we are now in sight of the last plank.  As we near the keelson, the planking gets trickier and trickier.  We become unable to clamp onto the sturdy oak frames and instead have to reverse clamp against the stem and use screws to hold the planks tight to the molds.  

With a little bit of brawn, the planks can be bent and twisted to get the right shape fairly easily while someone follows with clamps, nails, or screws.  Instead of putting up eight planks per day, like we had been before, we now get up five.  

What also slows us down is that each plank needs to be hand cut in the stern where the planks from the port side meet the starboard side planks.  Soon, the last plank will go on, celebrated by a bottle of Makers Mark whisky courtesy of Mr. Gerard Lambert.

*UPDATED* week 7 clip is up:

-PHOTOS - Nearing the Whisky Plank

Brendan studies the molds thinking of a good way to secure a clamp.

Without having done any fairing yet, the planks are looking very nice.

As we get closer to the keelson on the starboard side, we will switch and work on the port side.  

A mans best friend: a nail set that you never miss.  

An ariel view of the stern as the planks go up on the port side.

We let the planks run long on the port side.  They will be cut at a slight angle down the center and the Starboard side planks will be fitted to them.

The view from inside the boat as Drew and I wipe up all the squeeze out of epoxy.

Drew and Dave flex a plank by hand to accommodate the twist towards the stem.

As the planks get closer to the keelson, they are cut aft to fit the skeg.

In anticipation of the last plank, Jerry has hoisted a bottle of Makers Mark high above the boat.

more and more planks on up, and the stack above the boat gets smaller.

The last shot of the week.  The planking is about 90% finished and here you can see where they butt each other at the stern.  Whisky Plank should go up mid next week.