-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: