lenm

looking good Riggs! Are you thinking anchor/rope forward of bulkhead #1?

Nice colour! should look great against the wood trim

Thanks guys. Steve, your's must be nearing completion now?

Slight deviation from the plans from now as I require an elevated deck for fly fishing. Front deck has a freeboard around ankle height and lower one just above knees (for rougher water) - perfect. Went with a H90 20mm foam to try and gain some weight back due to the modifications. Deck panels were vacuum bagged on a piece of 30mm MDF board/table and beams using cryovac bag rolls.

looks fantastic and great colour scheme

Good to see your back on the job Riggs?

Broken windsurfing masts (scavenged from shops for free) have been so useful for me over the years. Have used them for dingy masts, booms, support posts, outrigger and VHF aerial bases and now bulkhead penetrations. Ready made carbon fibre tubing - and having a tapered shape - there is always a section which is the perfect diameter for a particular job. Hoping to have the decks down this week. Seems to be endless opinions on aluminium fuel tank installation. I have just tried to eliminate the possibility of water trapped between the tank and another surface. Have gone with twin tanks so I can play with boat trim. Have managed to route the tubing without need to cut into any longitudinal stringers. Motor wiring and hydraulic steering lines will be up underneath the starboard gunnel for access purposes. Depth sounder (transducer) cable will be port side to avoid 'noise' interference from other wiring.

Hi all, Many thanks for the comments and nice to hear everyone's take on custom boatbuilding. Incidentally I read a great book the other day - It suggested the answer to life's problem are usually found somewhere in the 'middle' - not at either ends of the spectrum. I couldn't help think about how this relates to boat building and obsessing over certain tasks. Perhaps putting the tools down when things are 'good enough' is the best ethos as Chick mentioned ?

Thanks Steve - that's a good way of looking at it.

Hi all. Interested on hearing anyone's thoughts on laminating deck beams with fibreglass. Is it worth all the extra work and weight or just coat timber with epoxy? I'm not looking for strength - just maximum protection from water ingress. Thanks

Thanks Chick, you have me sold on ventilation. I am supposed to place flotation as shown below for certification. This configuration seems to be similar to how you have described.

Hi Thrillsbe, as you mention, possibly a foam filled chamber is more prone to damp condition (and hence rot) than an empty one? Unfortunately air filled chambers do not qualify as buoyancy over here (the authorities want foam in certain quantity and location) Thanks Chick for your thoughts. Regarding your comment about ventilation are you referring to limber holes or inspection ports? Personally I am a bit reluctant towards sealed compartments which are inaccessible and un-inspectable. Just don't know what's going on in there. Would it be outrageous to put an inspection port on every chamber somehow? And possibly 'vent' after each trip? Would need to be done carefully so as not to detract the look of the deck.

Its nice to finally have the sub floor glassing finished - seemed to take thrice as long as I initially anticipated. SMcormick did warn me about this though :-) Discovered a great epoxy product for finishing the bilges. It flows/levels out nice and even and has 100% opacity with a single coat. Application is with a regular paint brush. Started shaping the foam buoyancy - a Neolon type foam as recommended by surveyor - a closed cell foam with chemical resistance and fire retardant properties. I cut the edges in a corrugated pattern to help promote air circulation around the foam and compartment ventilation. My current boat seems to get a lot of condensation and water vapour in the underfloor compartments.

That came up nice!

Happy new year to all. Some update pics.. Local regulations here require a 'builders plate' for vessel registration - which required me to engage a marine surveyor. Also, a condition/integrity certificate (for future insurance purposes) and buoyancy (going with 'Level' category flotation rather than 'Basic'). Happily she has passed 1st inspection! Taking my time to make sure everything is well and truly 'waterproof' such as transitioning any penetrations/screw holes to solid fibreglass..

Further to Grahams advise - I noticed Appendix E of the Gougeon Brothers Boat Building Book also merit use of inner layers of composites on plywood. Section also covers Aramid/Kevlar inc some test panel comparisons - with suggestion to utilise on inside where it can be put in tension (kevlar's main advantage over other fabrics). Back to original topic - I have used this particular hybrid fabric before and have successfully pulled it over a 'pencil round' edge with no bubbling (utilising peel ply). My suggestion would be to always utilise peel ply with this fabric - as is can end up somewhat 'textured' finish/surface if you don't.

I agree - strength can have different meaning depending on context. I find there is a lot of 'anecdotal' information floating around on the internet when it comes to composites. Lots of opinions and theory with no physical tests to back up their statements. Back to the subject composite, I have some test panels somewhere where I tested this hybrid variant against some benchmarks. Will see if I can find results, however, not relevant here as involved PVC sandwich rather than plywood.

Either method will work with this fabric as it is not too thick at 200gm. When compared to a typical 200gm glass - I find this hybrid takes more epoxy to wet out. It is much stronger than a 200gm glass though. I had a layer of this fabric on a SUP which fell off the roof racks on my truck. It bounced off the pavement with minimal damage (skin still waterproof). Make sure to protect it with a UV clear coat or paint because kevlar can degraded under UV I believe.

I have used plenty. What do you want to know?

What happens when females get involved.. This will be challenging on a 20' cc sportfish

Nice finishing touch Steve

Thanks Steve, the clay is a good idea. Re glassing interior - was thinking the same - a little difficult to put a time frame on things. I'm trying to knock one over each day when I get home from work.

Thanks Lotus, I checked and it does measure 1"x1". I think the photo is a bit deceptive as the moulds are very large as far as a hatch goes. No drain fittings though as you mention.

A friend lent me some commercial moulds for making some deck hatches. He has never used nor remembers how they work.. Please can anyone offer any suggestions Am I correct in assuming they are a female mould for the water channel/ gutter? Mostly, I can't figure out what the recesses are on the outer sides.

Thanks for easing the pain. Working with messy epoxy goo in confined spaces is not fun..