Joining the hull panels

Yesterday I extracted out the hull bottom and side panels and pretty much stopped due to an unexpected request for a proposal at work. I decided that the pursuit of new work was more important than working on the boat (After all, work is what gives me the ability to support my hobbies and go sailing!) so I called it quits.

Today I cleaned up all the pieces and prepped them for joining. Since the boat is 13.5' and the plywood is only 8' long each panel comes in two parts. The process of joining them entails sanding a shallow grove on each side of the joint and laying epoxy and fiberglass on each side to join them. The designer suggested using a plane or a belt sander, I decided to go with a basic palm sander with 80 grit - I figured there would be less chances of a "Woops" moment!

I went ahead and mixed up some of the laminating epoxy and coated all the joints prior to laying the fiberglass tape in. I laid wax paper on top of each joint and used the squeege to work the epoxy into the tape. I also went ahead and gave the first of three coats to the inside of the dagger board casing. Looks like that is pretty much all I can do for the time being so I am calling it quits. I guess all those paint cans that we keep in the garage are good for something!

Off to do some sailing this weekend in a big boat! (41' Beneteau) Boat project is done for the week!