Peter wrote:

David

This looks really interesting.  You may remember that I built a model of the 9m version from CNC cut parts.  I've finally uploaded some pics to my album.

I watch the progress with interest.  

On this part, there are five tabs, cut halfway through, not in the puzzle joint but elsewhere. They are 8mm wide, and should cut easily with a craft knife. In some places, the cutter hasn't gone cleanly right through the ply, so these areas will have to be carefully cut too, to avoid tearing fibres out of the reverse side.

I am now in possession of a full set of CNC-cut parts for a model of the SibLim 7m. I propose to make up the model using the same methods as the full size version as nearly as I can. Thus, I will use epoxy fillets rather than PVA or polyurethane glue, for example. It will take longer, but the aim is to learn as much as possible about assembling the full size boat, so I think the extra time is justified.

The first step will be to assemble the puzzle joints. These are to join pieces that are too big (at full size) to come out of a single sheet of plywood: the hull panels, main bulkheads and longitudinal members, mainly. 

Nine 4ft x 2ft sheets of 2mm and three 4ft x 2ft sheets of 1.5mm plywood as received from Jordan Boats, with all parts CNC cut (tabs, which need to be hand cut and trimmed, retain the parts within the sheet).

David.. do you believe that it is possible to build a useful boat of this type that would fit inside a 6 meter shipping container. 

Yes, I think this would be worthwhile, consulting with your CNC man to see what his view is, and what kind of offset would produce an easy sliding fit, but with no appreciable amount of play. 

with the topsides and middle panels, I'd put biaxial glass tape on the inside of the joints, as though they were a chine or a major bulkhead, and of course there will be glass on the outside as well. A bending test on a glued, glassed and cured sample, maybe 200mm wide, would be good.

Presumably a test with 2 mm stock would be a waste of time ?

Oh and while the folk I use can not mark a part with a pen they can put on a sub mm groove in the ply which should be OK

And thanks for the B&B update. I did watch the video and it looked a bit like 3 guys juggling jelly, glad to hear it works in the real world, and yes it does produce very nice fair bows. 

Cheers