AmosSwogger

The days go by so fast with kids; looks like yours are having fun in that picture Steve.

I got the module strong enough to flip it over on its side. We started sealing up the ballast tank area. My son got his first lesson in fiberglassing.

Great pictures; love the paint scheme.

Thank you Steve, that was very helpful. I owe a debt to those of you ahead of me who are making it easier for everyone else.

I really like the template idea; I could get the template close and then run the point of a pencil inside of a small washer to transfer the profile of the hull to the template. Thank you for the answer on the fiberglass.

Question regarding fiberglassing the module: does it matter where the fiberglass intersects? I plan to: 1. apply fillets to the corners 2. apply fiberglass tape to fillet 3. apply 6 oz fiberglass cloth to the panels Where should the 6oz fiberglass cloth intersect the fiberglass tape?

Thank you for the great advice Pete. Unfortunately I have already tack welded everything in place. Thanks for making me aware of the trimming I will have to do. The manual reccomends assembling the module before unfolding the hull, so that is what I did. My dad is going to come up and help me unfold the hull and insert/fit the module; I'm sure we will get quite a workout! I will heed your advice regaring aligning the module to the centerline at that time.

I got the module assembled, aligned, and tack welded. I had quite a few cleats that were slighly misalinged, I had to take it apart, tweak cleats and cleat cutouts on the plywood, and re-assemble the module mulltiple times. The faults were all mine, the kit and directions were excellent. With help from a neighbor I lifted up one end of the module, inserted the sole from underneath, and tied it up temporary in place. It was great having a workbench large enough to support the module (I did flatten the bench with #6 plane and check it for twist using winding sticks before using it).

I have glued up all the cleats necessary to complete the module. The weights wouldn't balance on the narrow cleats, so I used extra cleat stock and "bridged" over to put weight on the glued cleat. I cut the cleats to length after glueing them. My daughter got some math practice with the tape measure. She enjoyed using the jigsaw to cut the wood to rough length. After flattening the workbench with a hand plane I clamped some cleats down to the workbench. Question: is the module initially glued together with "tack welds" only after checking for square, or do I need to put epoxy in the joints themselves during the assembly? Do I need to put epoxy in the rabbits and slots during assembly?

Everything I know about boatbuilding is from your CS15 series of videos (slight exaggeration, but mostly true ). Any chance the series will be completed?

Subscribed; always learn a lot from your videos.

Makes sense PAR. That is a really cool joint in your centerboard case; very elegant.

I don't have enough experience to give feedback on your design, but wanted to add that I really enjoy looking at all the details in your drawings. Inspirational.

Will do; thanks Steve.

I'm ready to close up the centerboard trunk. I have not built my centerboard yet. Should I complete the centerboard before I close the trunk? I'm planning on using a piece of foam to act as a centerboard bumper. Should I epoxy the foam in place now or is the foam just jammed in and held in place with a friction fit?

I used the squeegee method when I glassed it and filled the weave with the squeegee; I'm putting on the finish coat now and thought it would be easier to roll up the sides of the centerboard case framework then squeegee it up.

Thanks for the answers; I have never rolled epoxy and has was surprised at the price of the epoxy-specific rollers. I'll use the cheap ones recommended instead. I'm getting ready to put the final coat of epoxy down before I seal up the centerboard case and wanted to try rolling it.

I like all the personal touches. Do you buy the specialty epoxy rollers and clean/re-use them or is it possible to use cheap ones from box stores?

My wife and I glued up finger joints. I flattened the workbench with a handplane and put plastic down. We pushed the joint together, clamped the pieces to the workbench and then put weight on the joints. They came out good. I think I will use this same technique again. I also started cutting stringers. I got my son involved when it came time to roundover the stringers; showed him how to change bits in the router table and then he got to practice on scrap wood. I didn't let him rout the actual stringers since it would put his hand too close to the bit.

Congratulations, thanks for posting all the pictures.

Great advice. I did go back and read through build threads. Thanks for all the work you guy put into this forum; it is a great resource. I will take your advice and build the module before building the cradle.

I have gotten a lot of use out of the broadfork, I highly recommend one. I practiced applying fillets on some scrap wood; I'm glad I took the time to practice. I made several mistakes (stirred/mixed the epoxy after I added filler, added too much filler, didn't have good way to apply it to the wood). Once I worked the kinks out I filleted the inside of the centerboard case and was happy with the results. I wet the wood with thin epoxy before applying the fillets. Is this necessary?

The pictures should be fixed now. I signed out, viewed the forum as a guest, and the pictures showed up fine.

Ok, I will have to change my photo hosting site. Thanks for letting me know.

Thank you for your well-written reply.