Starting the main hull bulkheads -

Well, it finally had to happen. I've decided to start work on the main hull bulkhead flat panels and I realize that I finally have to commit to a cabin type. Even tough I was toying with the idea of the small cuddy cabin to keep things simple and true to the R specification, I just have to build the standard cabin with the aft cockpit.
It will be a relief to work on straight forward flat parts in the basement and as spring starts to appear, work on finishing the float outer hull laminations in the garage.

Daggerboard through the case

I used the jigsaw, dremmel tools, files and sandpaper but I finally have the profile opening complete in the daggerboard case bottom. It was a little unnerving cutting out most of that poured plug in the case bottom and of course I cut the initial profile small, leaving a fitting iteration that took longer than I thought it would. But in the end all is well.



The board pulls all the way through easily. The scars of the fitting process can be seen on the board carbon fiber.

The leading edge might still be a bit tight and I did open up the profile too much toward the trailing edge. But overall I am happy. When pulled out the board gives a nice thunk as it bottoms.


Here is a short video of the board getting pulled out through the case.

Daggerboard outer sheathing

To get the board to the correct thickness it was first necessary to sand away some of the light weight filler and some of the first layer of the bi-directional carbon fiber covering. this time I made sure I worked the board until there was ~2.5mm of clearance. Luckily very little of the uni-directional fiber had to be removed but the filler that provided the 'perfect profile' had to be slightly flattened. I tried to compensate by removing some of the bi-directional cloth...but it is not as good as it was. Below is the simple check I used to verify the thickness of the board.


I laminated each side with 2 layers of the 6oz carbon cloth, some areas will have more carbon than the specified two layers. Luckily, there was just enough cloth left to complete the board.

This time I changed my sheathing strategy and did one side at a time, similar to how I am covering the outer float hulls. The big advantage compared to wrapping right around the board is that I was just able to cover the length of the board with one continuous piece of cloth.

I also changed my laminating approach, this time I did not vacuum bag the part. I felt more comfortable using peel ply and plastic, as shown above. The quality I am getting seems equivalent to my vacuum bagging results and it is a far easier production for me. Less materials are used and less planning is required.

One side finished you can see how I laid out the board on the bolt of cloth. The white line on the daggerboard are bits of peel ply that decided to stick with the carbon. I should have cut off the ragged end on the peel ply. It's where where the two pieces peel ply overlapped.


The daggerboard is now fully covered, ready for some final fairing and thankfully, it now fits easy in the case.

Next I need to cut the slot out in the daggerboard case bottom.

March break vacation

The annual week vacation on March break begins. This year we go west, not south, to see the other ocean and friends and family.

Update March 17th
Back from the vacation. Vancouver Island truly has the climate and welcoming atmosphere for me to consider it a place for me to live with the higher quality of life I desire.

Now, back to the boat build.

Daggerboard re-evaluated

Fellow F22 boat builders,
Please make sure that when you start making your daggerboard that you start with a foam thickness of 45mm not 51mm (2 in). Please read the plan's cautions carefully. I made a mistake somewhere there when I started the daggerboard build. Now to get the daggerboard to fit in the case I find myself sanding away my first sheathing lamination and worse still some of the carbon uni-fiber.

I might have to make another, I feel like ...................

March 3rd
Also remember that the section profiles on the full sized plans are for finished boards, sheathed and painted.

I currently have the board with almost 2mm clearance from the case width. I'm not sure how much two layers of 6 oz carbon fiber and paint will add to the board thickness. If anyone has a comment on this I would appreciate it.