My FS18 Straight Shear hard chine Splashed 6/15!

[Newt]

The fairing is a real good place for your buddy to work off what he owes. And if done right he will well and truly earn his money

You beat me to it!

Newt

[johnstonjosh]

My thought exactly! I got the skeg cut and routered the edges on the top side so it will have a nice contour. I dont know what it is about cocoa beach but while we were working on it some guy walked by the shop and he does boat work....he thought what it really needed was a 2ft dagger board instead of a skeg and thought that a windsurfing sail would turn it into a nice sailboat. Not sure what he was thinking lol.

[johnstonjosh]

I got the graphite I need for the bottom and shaped the skeg so its ready to go on today. I couldnt find any 1x1 lumber at the local chains but they had some pretty decent 2x2s that are really 1.5x1.5 It took some work but I was able to use a router to shave down the dimensions a bit without changing the straightness of the piece. I was afraid that if I had tried to use a saw it would have gone wrong with it being so small. After it was trimmed down I used the router to round off the top corners, then took a sander to finish the profile and add the tapers to the front and back.

[pee wee]

Everyone seems to find their own combination of tools and techniques that they're most comfortable with, I'd find it harder to do that with a router than a saw!
Sometimes I'll watch videos of guys in third world countries doing amazing work with (only slight exaggeration) a rock and a machete. It's a good reminder that the most important tool is the mind and hands of the person doing the work.

[johnstonjosh]

I was just concerned that if the part kicked it would tear a chunk off or not be straight. I clamped the part to a table edge, and used a 1/2 inch straight router bit down one side, flipped 90 degrees and ran the length again. wasnt hard at all. Then used a 3/8 curve bit to radius the top corners. there was a little area on the top middle that the router didnt get so just took a sander to it. It only took about 20 minutes to get it all looking how I wanted.

[K2FS18]

Keep up with the pics. I flipped mine once the bottom was glassed and the skeg was installed. I installed all the frames, interior framing, foam and sole. Then flipped back over and faired the bottom and sides and finished the bottom.

I can only handle so much of doing the same thing for a certain amount of time.

Then re-flipped and finished the top side and painted the sides.

The boat is not that heavy, and using mechanical advantage makes it easy.

[johnstonjosh]

Looks like thats what we are going to do. Skeg is installed. I made some not so smooth lines when cutting since I didnt notice the jigsaw blade had curved a bit. Once we flip it we can install the rub rails and use that to see what needs to be filled or sanded down. Going to glass in the frames and stringers. Just noticed an issue underneath where hull is not quite at the right profile. It doesnt look bad but the V extended back a little farther that it should have. Frames C and D have about an inch gap between the bottom and the hull where it wanted to V up a bit. The contour actually doesnt look bad and the back 6 feet are nice and flat. I am hoping once it is flipped and the weight is on the keel line we can get it to the right shape. There is enough flex in it right now that if we put weight on it, the hull goes to where it should be. If the boat's weight flattens that part down once flipped and we glass in the the frames it should sort itself out.

[johnstonjosh]

Starting to look like a boat!

[Jeff]

Yes, looking good now!!! Jeff

[johnstonjosh]

Started fairing. Nice having it on wheels to roll out in the sun and get a better look at it.