UK D5

[John D Wiilimann]

Well, there's something else to encounter for, I live in the UK and every thing is so much more expensive and no discounts for me as I guess I won't pass as a boyscout. Oh hang on, Baden Powel was not a junior...


I did the fillets, which are not all that great. And now in the process of sanding them down(I gather doing it by hand is the best way). I'm thinking that I should have built a fillet and put the fiberglass tape straight on it when still wet and then go onto the next fillet. Is this procedure better or will it cause tention problems in the hull?

I'm trying to figure it all out for the next one I'll build

BTW, this community is great ! Great to see other people's projects and how they are coming along

[ks8]

Completing the taping while the fillet is wet is called *wet on wet*.

There are several ways that builders accomplish this.

The way I do follows...

1- If there are any odd shaped pieces of tape or glass for the lamination, cut and fit those first, then set them aside, so they are ready.
2- soak the area with epoxy.
3- lay in the fillet.
4- go back and recheck the fillet making it as smooth to the final result as you can.
5- wait just a bit as the fillet begins to cure.

Some builders wait for a *bubblegum* consistency. I do not let it go that far. With long fillets, you may not need to wait at all because of the time to do steps 3 and 4. If the fillet cures too much and can no longer be *formed* while laying on the tape, you may get more bubbles, air pockets in any valleys between ridges. So you want the fillet to still be wet to some degree.

6- brush on extra epoxy over the fillet and slightly out to the sides, to lay the tape and any odd shaped cut glass into.
7- carefully and slowly (but keep moving!) lay in the tape and/or glass.
8- smooth the tape into the fillet and work out bubbles with a lamination roller or by lightly jabbing the bubbles with the end of the bristles of the brush loaded with some epoxy, then smooth it out. Do not jab or overwork the epoxy too much or you may whip tiny bubbles into it making it begin to turn milky. Whipped epoxy will not be as strong, but don't panic if this happens a little as a little should be alright, but now that you are aware, try to avoid it.
9- Apply more epoxy as needed to finish wetting out the lamination. It all needs to go transparent, but it does not need to have its weave completely filled. Filling the weave comes later with a fairing compound, or with straight epoxy if you are bright finishing the area.

Have fun!

[John D Wiilimann]

Thanks KS8, I should have read this before doing my fillets...

Well, I'll know for the next time.

I guess this info is useful for the outside even if it's slightly different.

I also saw that the boat has a slight torsion along it's length, I guess that will compensate for my rowing.

[John D Wiilimann]

I've layed the first sections of tape. I've rubbed them in with my fingers which seemed to work quite well on the whole. Funny, the first bits of tape I've laid are by far the best.

I do have one or two places where there are slight voids under the tape. Is there any way to catch these up? Maybe cut through the tape and fill it up with epoxy?

I'm not looking for perfection esthetically as long as the boat is pretty strong as it is going to be a workhorse or should I say a workponey?

BTW, do you lay the tape up the vertical sections and then cut the top off when it has all cured or do you something fancy(that I don't know of)?

Oh, and while I'm at it, I gather you can do the outside rails with one piece of tape(the tape seems flexible enough to take the curvature)

[Charlie]

If you have a good view of the extent of the void you can drill two opposing holes in it and inject epoxy with a woodworker's "glue injector".
The injectors I use are plastic, cost about $1.50 and can be cleaned with vinegar.
Charlie

[John D Wiilimann]

Thanks a lot Charlie, I'll give that a go.

I've added a couple more pictures to http://www.thus.ch/~jd/sailing/D5/FrameSet.htm

[John D Wiilimann]

Some more pictures !

Finished the outside seams. Wayhey!!!

Now, I've got to move on the next couple of steps.

Skeg: Do I glue it or do I screw it in ?

Daggerboard hole: Do I fiberglass the inside section? Is it even possible?

[Charlie]

This may be little late, but, I fiberglassed the inside of the daggerboard trunk while it was still in two pieces. The reason was, I assumed sliding the dagger in and out would abrade the inner finish and repairing in there, once the whole thing is assembled, would be difficult.
I also made the dagger trunk narrower because my dagger came out several millimeters thinner than I expected.

[John D Wiilimann]

Thanks Charlie. Alas, it was a bit late but we shall see how it will all work.

My boat will definitly go in circles, I noticed my skeg is not straight...

Anyway, I was wondering for the Breathooks on the front, where on earth do these go?

I'm a little unsure about the seat that goes on the daggerboard trunk, is it in two bits or do you cut a hole in the middle? Am I supposed to add cleats in the actual trunk? I guess, I'll have to improvise this bit as I find the plans a little unclear in this section.

[jeremy]

I'm a little unsure about the seat that goes on the daggerboard trunk, is it in two bits or do you cut a hole in the middle? Am I supposed to add cleats in the actual trunk? I guess, I'll have to improvise this bit as I find the plans a little unclear in this section.

The trunk itself isn't much of a trunk - it's two pieces that fit between the frames that make up the middle seat. That seat will have cleats around the inside of the top and the two trunk pieces have cleats that go on the outside of the top and a vertical piece below this on each side (along the frames).

There aren't any cleats inside the trunk.

I made the top of the seat in two pieces, but it could possibly be done as one piece with a big hole in it. It'd be more difficult and wouldn't achieve much, but it's possible.