Moon River build update

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  • 02 Aug 2017 18:30
    Message # 5008877
    Deleted user

    As many of you know, I've gutted my 1979 Pearson 10M and am in the process of converting it to a junk and refitting the interior.  I thought I'd start a thread on it just to keep up with my own thoughts.


    Recent work:

    1) The first bulkhead has gone in.  It's the forward most, and forms the chain locker/vberth separation.  I've added a shelf about 12 inches above the waterline, and glassed the whole thing in to bomb-proof levels.  Later I will add three drain/sloshing holes - one in each aft corner and one near the stem.  The frame to support the access hatch is made of American white ash, and also glassed for abrasion resistance. 

     

    2) The main bulkhead has gone in.  This is a few inches forward of the mast step and partners, and takes the mast load.  It's made from two layers of 3/8" marine grade Douglass Fir.  I had to make it in three horizontal sections to fit it through the companionway.  This allowed me to glue the two layers outside of the boat, offsetting each by 6 inches to create lap joints when reassembled in the boat.  The joints all got a layer of 1708 biaxial cloth on both sides.


    I know that some people swear by the tick-stick or jiggle stick method for grabbing the shape of a bulkhead, but I have better luck with a hot glue gun, some cheap furring strips, and a bunch of popsicle sticks.


    3)  The mast step is in, after having to tear out the first attempt because somewhere in the initial install, I mis-mixed a batch of epoxy and it never cured fully.  That set me back over a month and involved the usual self-berating.


    It's made of multiple layers of 1/2" and 3/8" marine ply, Douglas Fir. The first layer was beveled to match the hull, placed into a mush of epoxy and silica, and glassed to the hull with single large layer of 1708 biaxial glass cloth with about 12 inches of runnout all the way around.  While still uncured, I added the next two layers and cleaned it all up. The main bulkhead went in literally over the top of of this, then I added fillets all the way around, another larger layer of 1708 glass, run out about 18-24 inches onto the hull.  Then three layers of 3/8 inch Doug Fir cut into a nice round ring as this will be visible above the cabin sole.  Then the whole beast got several layers of 1708 6" wide biaxial tape to lock it into the bulkhead, protect it, and generally make me feel like it wasn't going anywhere. 

    Regarding the 1708 biaxial cloth - though the "08" part of it, the 8 oz. mat, doesn't add strength and isn't needed with epoxy, I find it easier to work with than the straight up 1700 glass, which frays apart as soon as my clumsy, sticky hands get at it.  It does, of course use up more epoxy and add weight, but it also sinks into the little dimples and divots I inevitably leave on the ground out hull a bit better.  Of course, it also adds bulk, which may a be a plus or minus depending on the particular job.

    Last modified: 03 Aug 2017 16:49 | Deleted user
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       " ...there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in junk-rigged boats" 
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