Sneak Peek

Here are some images from my current projects. I won't say what they are unless someone asks. I'll just say it will be a guess for now.

Little parts

This is probably the most enjoyable part of my rebuild. Construction is wrapping up on a couple of parts. I've made jib-cleat stands. I'm also ready to glue on some supports for the centerboard trunk.

Two carbon plates, glued at just under 90 degrees.
Then I sanded it all up, laid two layers of +-45degree pre-preg cloth. Then I made a bleed stack, vacuum bagged it and cooked it for 8 hours.

Unwraped it, cut the edges off with a band saw, and routed the corners

Then I traced some cleats

More cutting, grinding, and sanding, then about 3 coats of some really cool clear stuff.

Ok, that's all for this post. I'll make another one in a sec. Lots of work getting done, all will be presentable soon. I'm very satisfied with the progress. I'm also thinking that I am ready to shape my own Centerboard...hmm

Secondary Bonding on Deck Supports

I've laid out my cloth here, prepped the parts, masked off the areas on the boat that might be fallout zones for guck and stuff, cleaned everything after sanding thoroughly, and prepped tools, brushes, sticks and other supplies.


I measured out my dimensions and marked them on masking tape



This makes cutting the pieces easy and accurate. It saves valuable time because once the epoxy is mixed, there begins a race against time.

All the surfaces are primed by painting on thickened epoxy. If there are any holes, they get filled. Also the front face with exposed nomex got extra goo. This is so the honeycomb, with its air bubbles and limited bonding surface adheres well to the laminate.
Here is a piece cleaned and ready to prime

Here it is after receiving three strips of laminate, one in each corner, and one over the edge.
On a Lido, as I'm sure others have discovered as well, it is very difficult to glue, sand, or laminate up in the corner and under the deck. However, take time to make sure that area is sweet and well bonded to the deck. This whole fix will not seem stiff if the deck is not actually connected and there is a gap between it and the top of the support.


All finished and under heat.

Soon I get to sand it up and this fix is done. I've not decided whether to paint it white, or use clear coat. Any suggestions???

Almost finished with deck supports

Number one hull modification, paint. Number two Hull modification, deck stiffeners. The second step is relatively complete. Its all cosmetic from here. We only need to add some laminate for weatherproofing and secondary bonding purposes, but the strength is all there, and what a difference!!! This is important for me, a relatively large human, to be able to roll tack aggressively with confidence in my boat. Mission accomplished.

After bonding the two layers of carbon to the hull and deck, we noticed a definite uniform increase in strength and decrease in flex. Next we shaped our cross-supports with a small saw and by hand-sanding.

Next, we glued them in place, using a generous bead across the contact edge. This could be thickened epoxy, or a specialty glue like spabond, epibond, plexus, etc.

Problems:
I can see already that swinging the whisker pole around on a windy race day could damage these frames. Also, the materials are of no matter. Fiberglass, carbon, or wood, polyester or epoxy should make little difference in weight or result for this application. Wood and epoxy could be all you need to get this done. I saw a successful result made from g-10 plastic bonded with some fiberglass. I think our materials may be hard to come by and fragile. However, take some time in building no matter the material. Our focus was not on exact measurement, but attention to quality in the preparation, gluing and laminating processes. Strength and durability over look.

Measurement: I'll forward the measurements to anybody who asks, but it was simply a matter of even spacing, and seating position. We used three supports. One in front but near the jib cleat for the crew. Another positioned at the aft end of the centerboard trunk, and one in between.



Rudder update:

Construction method is pre-preg from a female mold. construction has begun, more to follow...

More work

I've been working too much, but finally have generated progress on the boat.
For the centerboard:
Clear-cut cedar, no knots, make sure the grain is straight, wood is dry and aged. Green wood is wet, heavy, and prone to warping over time.

Cut into strips then glue together. Prime surfaces with epoxy then blob more glue and clamp



Then grind off the extra epoxy, plane it, trim it.















I'm trying to get a friend to
Draw up a shape on autocad or rhino. Then I'll take the file to a guy with a CNC machine. Otherwise I'll have to do it the old-fashioned way.

Actual fun amidst boat stress

Yep, I rode that camel









This is a guy who spun on stage without stop for a little over 10 minutes!



Arabian guards on horse back!

Check out the racing at www.rc44.com

Boat work in 93 degrees or is it 30??

There are no Lidos in Dubai, and it's a lot more difficult to re-rig an RC44 than a lido. Still, there's time for a little snowboarding!



The Emirates mall indoor ski slope!