July 28, 2019
I continued work on the aft of the boat today, the old outboard engine well, or aperture through the counter of the boat. I also continued refining the shape of the mounting surface for the new Torqeedo Cruise 4.0 fixed pod electric motor. My first order of business, as is the case most often, was to water-wash the amine blush from the surface of the epoxy that cured without the addition of peel ply. But first I had to remove the supportive braces I installed on the exterior of the boat's hull in order to support the fiberglass I laid inside the lazarette.
With the cured epoxy cleaned up, I could now proceed with prepping the surface for more glass and epoxy work (i.e. sanding the areas not protected by peel ply). I intended to do some work on the electric motor mount surface, so to that end I had to make sure the boat was level from side to side. I used a 4' level stretched across the aft of the cockpit settees.
I made only slight adjustments in the boat stands to find level.
Next, I grabbed the block I fabricated as a female mold of the Torqeedo's mounting block, placed it into its future position, and scribed the upward curve of the counter onto the side of the mold. Using a cut-off wheel and my 4" angle grinder, I removed this lower portion from the mold.
What I was left with was a lower profile mounting surface on the mold for the Torqeedo mounting block.
I then got to work on further shaping the mold, as well as the recess on the counter of the boat that the mold will be epoxied to. I used the 1" belt sander and some hand work on the mold itself.
Finally I achieved level from side to side; the forward to aft orientation of the was now good for final install.
With the mold of the mounting block now ready for installation, I turned my attention back to the task of enclosing the old outboard motor well in the lazarette. There were a couple spots on the opening that I did not support with braces, and sure enough the heavier biaxial and double biaxial cloth I used as the first layering to go over the opening sagged a bit. So with the 1" belt sander, I removed the most extreme contours of the two spots where sagging occurred. I did cut through the two layers (essentially three layers of 1708), but had no issue with this since additional layers of glass would rectify this temporary situation. In fact, I planned to begin to rectify it today.
I cut a 12" x 10.5" square of 6oz cloth to cover the two locations that I broke through with the belt sander.
I first cleaned up the surfaces, inside and out, by vacuuming and then solvent-washing. Next, I wet the exterior surface of the repair area on the counter of the boat with epoxy resin, and then filled any low spots with thickened epoxy. I also feathered in the sharp contrast between the original laminate around the perimeter of the old engine well and the new glass laid up yesterday. I worked the thickened epoxy from the new fiberglass and across original laminate. This feathering allowed for a smooth transition from old too new.
I then laid the 12" x 10.5" piece of 6oz cloth on the repair area, effectively sealing up the two holes I created with the 1" belt sander by removing the cured fiberglass sag.
Inside the lazarette, I thickened some additional epoxy resin to a loose consistency (think mayonnaise), and very carefully spread that across the old engine well repair area, being sure not to push the thickened epoxy out through the two holes. I laid peel ply on both the interior and exterior of this work. I will lay up some a couple more layers of the 35oz double biaxial cloth on the interior to complete the job of enclosing the old outboard engine well.
The exterior of the hull will take a bit more work to fill and fair the surface to ready it for primer paint, and while this is happening, I will be installing the electric motor mounting surface, filling and fairing it as well.
Total Time Today: 3.5 hrs
No comments:
Post a Comment