back to the bases

After spending the afternoon yesterday in Ft Lauderdale waiting on Nance and Underwood rigging shop to modify the lifelines and this morning focused on NOCBS' responsibilities, I made some progress on the bases for the new boom gallows this afternoon.

The image above is of the bases after removing the modeling clay mold and some sanding.  The cream colored base consists hardened epoxy thickened with a high density/structural thickener. This will provide a strong platform on which the base of the gallows will rest.

I then taped off the surrounding area in preparation for adding some epoxy thickened with a less dense/fairing thickener.  This will allow me to sand down the fillets and base to provide a nice cosmetic finish.

With the epoxy applied it is now a waiting game until I can begin sanding.  Since I used a slow hardener and we are nearing bug hour here in the Everglades, the sanding will happen tomorrow morning.

two epoxy project does slow going make....

Each project that involves fiberglass and epoxy work in which I engage definitely increases my skills with the medium, but I have yet to gain much ground in the efficiently arena.  I continue to make slow progress on both the generator box and the gallows bases.

Here is the box..   Since the last update I have added mat to the sides and outside edges.  I have also begun to fillet in the inside corners. The brown areas are fared in using west 407 density filler.  This will enable my to give the finished box a smooth surface.

The next steps are to cover the top edge with mat and finish the interior corner fillets.  Once these tasks are complete then I will begin work on the lid.

And here on the gallows bases... After cleaning, sanding, and filling the bolt holes left from the old stanchion bases,  I created a mold for the new bases out of modeling clay.  The template for the mold was a bowl from the kitchen (don't worry Anne approved) and a straight edge.  Once the molds were complete I then poured in thickened epoxy.  I did two separate pours to avoid excess heat generation caused by the exothermic reaction of the curing epoxy.  Heavy layups of thick epoxy can generate enough heat to damage the deck and compromise the integrity of the curing epoxy.  Two pours also provided me with greater control over the accuracy of the coverage and thickness of the layup.  The next step on this project will be to remove the mold and fair in the new bases.

good progress on both projects

Making progress on both the boom gallows and the generator box.  This morning, the inner, cardboard mold slid easily out of the generator box.  I must admit I was a bit worried that the epoxy the dripped through the joints would make this a nightmare, but my fears were unfounded.

Anne and I also removed the stanchions and bases at the site of the boom gallows on C'est la Vie.  With Anne's assistance this also went much more smoothly than anticipated.

starting to look like a box

I spend a few hours today assembling the pieces of the box for the generator.

I used clamps and painter's tape to hold the panels in position and thin strips of fiberglass mat  to tab the pieces together.  Once this dries, tomorrow morning, then I will remove the inner, cardboard box.  I realize it looks rough in it's current form, but the cosmetics will come later.

epoxy time

With the panels of core material cut...

The next step is to cut out fiberglass mat to match the panels.

 
Now I will use epoxy to laminate fiberglass mat onto what will become the interior of the box.

While set up for working with the epoxy, I included a few additional projects...  The rudder is off the Sunfish is cracked and needs fiberglass mat for reinforcing and the wooden discs are the bases for the boom gallows project.

Nothing to do now but wait for the epoxy to cure.

allow me to introduce the honda generator and accompaning project

We purchased a small honda generator for C'est la Vie. The trouble now and the next project is were to store the generator that has gasoline in the tank. Three options exist...
1) Store on deck - there is a lack of space and this puts the generator in the elements  - no
2) Create a vented locker similar to the propane locker - complex and lack a good place - no
3) create an airtight box in which to store the generator below decks when not in use - yes!

Fortunately the generator packaging provided us a template for the fiberglass storage box.

The box on the left will be used for the template.  It lacked a base so I made one from scrap plywood.  The plywood base and interior braces were attached to the plywood via staples.  These structures serve to make the box more rigid.  This will be helpful in later stages.

Using the box as a template I began to cut out core material.  I will laminate fiberglass mat to this material to create the box.

prototype cross piece completed

Above is the prototype gallows cross member.  I used different designs for the right and left sides so that Anne and I will be able to choose our favorite design.  I'm leaning to the right side due to both aesthetics and structural integrity  The finished produce with have three notches across the top for the boom.  I am afraid that removing additional material from the left side will weaken to cross brace.  This prototype is 1/4" thinner than the finished piece, but I still have my doubts about the design on the left side. 

Next steps are to drop this piece off at the metal shop, begin work on the wooden bases, and build up the deck to accept the base of the gallows.

the design process continues

I dropped off the 2" steel tubes and met with the guys at Paradise welding about the design on Friday.  With the metal at the shop, I am now turning my energies towards creating a prototype for the wooden cross piece.

In the image, the left piece of wood will be for my prototype and the  darker wood on the right is the actual piece of sapelle that will become our new gallows.