Bob's FS18

[Dan_Smullen]

Wow. It all looks amazing.

I’ve always had some mental blockage when it comes to molds, but this helps. What weight cloth did you use? Do you think not will support a person standing on it?

[toadfish]

Dan,

The fore and aft gutters were laid up with a starting layer of finish cloth followed by six layers of 12 oz. biaxial. They are stiff by themselves, but because of the way they are laminated to frames and support beams, I'm pretty sure they are stout enough. Strength and stiffness will hopefully be further increased when the deck is bonded from above.

I'm a little worried about the stiffness of the hatches themselves, so if anyone has a suggestion on a core material to add to the underside of the 9mm plywood hatch, I'd appreciate it.

Bob

[VT_Jeff]

I'm a little worried about the stiffness of the hatches themselves, so if anyone has a suggestion on a core material to add to the underside of the 9mm plywood hatch, I'd appreciate it.

Bob

I have the same question, was thinking about maybe some diagonal bracing instead of layering to keep weight down, will be interested to see what you and on and how it works, I am a good ways from actually needing that info at the moment.

I like your nav lights, do you ave a link to those?

[Dan_Smullen]

Ahhh. I gotcha. Thanks, Bob.

Jeff, would a layer of 1/2” or 3/4” foam, filleted in and glasses over on the bottom side stiffen things up?

VT Jeff and I, I believe, are anxiously looking ahead to details like this while we spend our time with our heads between stringers and frames.

[VT_Jeff]

Ahhh. I gotcha. Thanks, Bob.

Jeff, would a layer of 1/2” or 3/4” foam, filleted in and glasses over on the bottom side stiffen things up?

VT Jeff and I, I believe, are anxiously looking ahead to details like this while we spend our time with our heads between stringers and frames.

I like the foam idea, on the list of options to mull. And yes, hatches def seem a lot more interesting than stringers and frames!

Bob, boat is looking great, that fuel tank install is top notch!

[cape man]

I used diagonal braces on the OD18 hatches made from 1/2" ply glued with the end grain. Glass on top, just epoxy and paint under.

[VT_Jeff]

Question on the p trap. Hows it work? If you bury the bow in a wave, will that prevent water from getting in the tank? I assume that's what a loop is for, but it seems like the loop could trap water and prevent venting, or maybe tank pressure will blow that out? Or maybe the fuel pump will create a vacuum in the tank and suck the trapped water through the loop?

[toadfish]

Jeff,

Sorry for going dark and not responding since last week, took a very long weekend in the deer woods to escape the craziness. Happily off the grid.

The link for the nav lights is https://www.oznium.com/marine-led-light ... tion-light. They have been available for a while, but were only recently Coast Guard certified.

The P-trap vent has an internal baffle in the trap that water has to get past before it even gets to the vent line. Theoretically eliminates the loop.

Bob

[toadfish]

Catching up on more progress with the aft bilge/storage area and transom. Got the compartment faired and primed. The cleats visible are to suspend two false floor panels above the bilge floor.






Stern eyes, garboard drain, through hulls, and part of the jack plate mounted while the access was easy.




As finishing of the compartment continued, something started to really bug me and I hesitated to post this part for fear of looking like an over-thinking nut. I was happy with the simplicity of the slots that were cut in frame E to drain water from the sole directly into the aft bilge, but maybe there were unintended consequences.

The sole drainage was changed entirely by filling in the slots (sad and painful) and adding drain tubes to the aft corners of the sole, which empty into a 12v shower sump on the bilge floor. It will direct water from the sole to a smaller confined area and keep it from completely flooding the bilge. It also potentially reduces weight from a bunch of water collecting over a larger area, since the sump will only hold a small amount before the internal automatic pump clears it quickly. The nagging feeling that I’ve over-complicated this is tempered by the fact that, if it doesn’t work as planned, I’ll disconnect the sump and drain directly into the bilge, which was the original plan anyway.

Drain tube setup through frame E and the side walls of the compartment. It looks convoluted, but it is all "downhill"








Drains trial fit and connected to the sump.




Connections soldered and double shrink-wrapped.






Sump mounted and connected to a through hull fitting.

[Jeff]

Really nice work!!! Jeff