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Mollyhawks, Weekend 4
March 2-3, 2012

Sorry about last week - I deleted Cut instead of Moved and all the pics are gone.

We were able to accomplish quite a bit. We got the frames assembled and both hulls stitched together with zip-ties

One of the design changes I made was to move the forward bulkhead closer to the bow to increase cockpit space. I screwed up the angled for the frames and the sheer for the bow ended up looking funky. Since nothing is glued yet, I was able to make the necessary changes.

First step was to see just how much flair it was going to take to make things purty. I forced the sides apart as much as I could . . .

. . . then take the angle with a bevel. It was close enough to the the angle of the other frames I went ahead and simplified my life - all the frames and transom have the same angle. I cut new bulkheads and new frames and continued.

For all the frames that we did last week, Curt and I pulled the screws and plugged the holes with toothpicks. Standard stuff.

Welsford's instructions say the first step is to true up the bow, apply a thick fillet, and lay in fiberglass tape. These thick fillets are something new for me, and they will come in to play next week. For now, we are just getting them in.

I have finally gotten smart enough to do the do the first fillets in the areas that will be covered by airboxes: The forward and aft seats. That gives us a place to practice.

Curt and I were able to get all the fillets in one boat on Friday night, then with Sean and Jim, we were able to get the frames glued in and the fillets done on the second boat.

Gluing the frames and transom was a pain. We mixed the thickened epoxy, put it into sandwich bags, clipped a corner to make an improvised pastry bag, then forced the spooge into the seams. We burned through over a gallon of epoxy and more than an 8 oz bag of silica. I need to order more epoxy so we can get the bottoms done next week.

There we go: The boat on the right has all the fillets done and the frames glued in. The one on the left has the fillets in but still needs the frames permanently installed.

Next Friday, we do the frames on the boat on the left, remove any existing screws and plug the holes with toothpicks. If we have time, we flip the boat on the right and grind the corners off the seams in prep for 'glassing the bottom.

Next Saturday, one team flips the boat on the left and preps the bottom while the other team lays 'glass tape over the seams. With luck, we'll end next Saturday with tape on the seams of both boats. We'll decide if we are going to cover the entire bottom with fiberglass.

Any and all are welcome to come and play.