Most folks recommend that the various storage areas (under the sole, under seat tops, and forward of the cabin) be painted a light color, to make it easier to find things. And now is a good time to do that, because it gets harder to reach down into some of these areas once the 3rd planks are installed.
Meanwhile, we can be further preparing for the next steps after planks, which are to install the sole and seat tops. So, lets be at it!
You might note that the hatch tops (and the underside of the seat tops as well) already have a coat of epoxy. It is more difficult to sand these surfaces once the coamings and stiffeners are installed, so I did the first epoxy coat prior to installing them. So I only need to sand after the 3rd coat (2nd and 3rd coat will be done on the same day, with no sanding between).
This pix also shows the cutout for access to the centerboard trunk. At the suggestion of Mr Welsford (as related by Keith Nasman), I started the cutout about 8" forward of the aft end of the trunk, to reduce the possibility of water surging up from the trunk. Though I plan to install a centerboard slot gasket which should help with this as well.
I applied the primer to the under-seat areas, and all was well - the new full face respirator really made the entire process as pleasant as possible. Until I finished and went upstairs. The whole house smelled like primer! I have a small fan mounted in the outside wall of my shop (you can just see the round inlet grill on the right edge of the picture), but it was woefully inadequate to the task. Hmm - what to do? Can't continue this way, especially when the weather is not so warm.
The result is that the fans (which are rated for something like 2000 or 2500 cfm each) pull a slight negative pressure in the shop. Some air comes from the back window, but some also comes from the adjacent living spaces. The result is that paint fumes dont travel into the rest of the house. Whew! I was really glad I didn't have to do the painting outside - would have really put a crimp in the schedule.
The sole doubler was modified for the hatch cutouts, including connections to the gutter that will extend around the perimeter of the sole. The doubler was cut essentially in half as a result, which will make glueing it down to the sole easier to do I think. | I cut an opening in the aft end of the sole to give access to the area between the two sumps at either side of the sole. These 3 areas are all connected to support the bilge pump (the inlet is in the starboard sump), so I wanted to be able to air out the middle area. I am putting a (non-waterproof) hatch cover in that area, in case I want to store something on the sole there. |
Here is the port plank dry fit - note that the starboard plank has already been glued in, and bulkhead fillets applied.
As with plank 2, I used clamps to the bulkheads at the top of the plank, and copper wires at the plank to plank join.
But, some of these fillets are visible in the cabin, so I decided to cut my own tape, rather than use the 9oz tape I used on the other plank joints. In addition to being thicker, the 9oz tape has an even thicker edge, which makes it more difficult to fare. My tape is from 6oz cloth, and I used a technique for cutting it that made it much less of a loose-threads mess.
Before cutting the tape to width, you grab a single strand of glass that runs lengthwise where you want to cut, and pull it out. Then, you cut the cloth where this strand use to be. The result is that you don't (if you cut carefully) cut any other lengthwise strands. and less chance of loose strands during wet out and application.
As with plank 2, I applied the bulkhead fillets, and then let them cure for about an hour or so. I then wet out the tape as with plank 2 (lay out on scrap plywood, wet out with a roller, roll up the wet tape, then unroll in place on the plank, then use the roller to draw the tape down and do final shaping of the still-soft fillet), then let that cure for 3-4 hours. Then, with a brush, I applied a generous coat of epoxy on the tape and a bit past the edge of the tape, and applied a layer of peel-ply on top of the tape. The trick is to not apply too much epoxy that it will run out from under the peel-ply, and make the peel ply quite a bit wider than the tape/epoxy mixture to ensure no runs. It is a bit tricky to get the peel-ply applied flat on a vertical surface - I am still working on that. It isnt as forgiving as fiberglass cloth, since it is such a tight weave.
There will still be some sanding to do, and probably a bit of faring, but not as much as without the peel-ply I think.
You can compare the plank 2 taping method and the plank 3 method here - the top of the plank 2 tape is visible along the bottom of the photo (and it has been sanded quite a bit, whereas the plank 3 taping has not yet).