Forward Deck | More Fibreglass Required!

I had been pondering for some time how many layers of fibreglass I should lay down on the forward deck, in addition to the layer already in place.

This deck will receive a fair amount of punishment when raising and lowering the mast, and anchoring the boat.

The build manual states, somewhat enigmatically, that 'at least a single layer of fabric should cover the bottom and sides of the well'. Why not just say two? Or three?

My first layer did just that, but I decided to add another two layers to make sure it is strong enough.

This is another part of the build which consumes a lot of time and effort with no visible change to the boat. So here are just a few photos to show what I did.

Here we are cutting out the two additional fibreglass panels.

As shown in previous posts I used a paper pattern laid on the fabric, weighted down with a couple of doorstops to stop things moving around during the mark up.

Then I used a marker pen to make small dots around the pattern, making a line to follow when cutting out the panel. This way it doesn't matter if the fabric moves while being cut - this is much more effective then cutting around the pattern.

I didn't run the additional panels right up to the sheerclamp, but made them a little larger than the deck to cover the fillets as well as the deck itself.

Here is the second panel in place, smoothed out and ready for resin.

And here it is wetted out with clear resin.

This was sanded and received a second coat of resin to 'fill the weave'.

Lastly the third layer was applied, sanded and coated.

Here is the finished deck, with the third layer awaiting its final sanding.

I told you there is little or no visible change! But it's done now. 

And I look forward to installing the upper breast hook at some point.