Every little bit helps

This weekend I got the centerline seam filletted and taped. I also stitched in a few more frames, and now the only frame missing is f110. I may wait to get that stitched in until I have the keel fabricated so that I can be certain that the frame is in the correct position. Or I may not...

I also fab'ed up an I-beam for between the transom and frame 169.5, ala what Kevin did on pipeDream.

One issue I have encountered is that with the zip ties drawn tight on frame 53.5 a "hollow" is created in the hull side panel. Doesn't seem right. I will have to ping the other builders to see if they have encounted this and what they did about it. I suppose I could leave the frame a little "loose" (i.e., have the frame away from the hull panel a bit midway up the hull). After all, the thickened epoxy will fill any space between the frame and support any compressive loads.

Lickety Split

The second batch of biaxial tape and filler I ordered on Sunday evening from JMSOnline.net arrived this morning via UPS Ground. Not bad at all. Great prices and quick shipping. Definitely a good source for builders in the Upper Midwest.

At long last...

...I got my biaxial tape. I ended up ordering 40yds (4" wide) from JMSOnline.net. Price was great (~20% less than West Marine), and shipped quickly. For builders in the upper Midwest this seems like a good vendor (located in White Bear Lake, MN) if you need items quickly---items shipped ground to Madison arrived in a day or two. I just order more tape and colloidal silica tonight, so I will let you know how the shipping routine goes this time around.

As we finally got the tape earlier this week, Traci and I made some great progress this weekend. We started by filleting and taping the chines. We departed from the "game plan" a little by stitching in frames 018 and 053.5 before we started taping. I found that with the stresses and sharp angles near the bow, it was difficult to keep the edges of the side and bottom hull panels meeting at the corners. By stitching in frames 018 and 053.5, we ensured that the bottom and side panels met ideally on their edges. This approach seems to have worked well---the frames line up well with the chines and the sheer. No real extra trimming necessary.

Next up: while we wait for more colloidal silica for filleting, I will try to stitch the remaining frames. Frame 089 still has me scratching my head as to what the best solution is to keep the frame from contorting until the cabintop in stitched in. I will figure some way to prop open the hull in that area until the cabin goes on.

Nice Arse...

Still waiting on biaxial tape from West... But I happened to buy 10ft of unidirectional tape at West last week, so I figured I would practice my filleting and taping technique on the transom where the ability of biaxial tape to conform to complex curves is not as critical.

In short, I think it turned out pretty well. Decide for yourself...

I mixed epoxy with colloidal silica to the consistency of thin peanut butter and made the fillet. I also wet out a ~2" margin on either side of the fillet with unthickened epoxy. Then, while the fillet was still wet, I wet-out a strip of glass tape and layed it over the top of the fillet gently working the tape into contact from the center outward. This technique seemed to work well and no bubbles were observed under the tape. Should be solid.