The first thing I decided to do before starting painting again was to complete the installation of buoyancy in the lazarette.
I started this in February, before we left for the southern hemisphere. I did harbour hopes of completing the work before our departure, but as usual I was being overly optimistic!
I would surmise that this requirement was originally overlooked when building the prototype, because as far as I can remember it isn't mentioned in the manual.
It only appears on drawing #11, which shows slabs of closed cell foam situated underneath the footwell, between the sole and the bottom of the hull.
It calls for 1.38 cubic feet of foam, or 88lb (40kg) of flotation.
I have seen photos of foam sheets jammed unceremoniously in place, and it looks awful!
Other builders have solved the problem in two ways.
Some have extended the footwell sides down to the bottom panels and others have extended the footwell sole horizontally out to the hull side panels, thereby creating an airtight space.
I only realised that something would be necessary after I had completed the hull, so I had left it too late for either option.
I thought about it for months, and eventually decided to strap buoyancy bags underneath the footwell.
This would allow me to remove the buoyancy for cleaning and maintenance, or if extra space was required.
I found that a pair of Crewsaver 18 litre buoyancy bags just about satisfied the requirement, at 36 litres in total.
My plan was to secure the bags in place with webbing of the type used for sailing dinghy toe straps.
Here are the inflated bags.
And here are the fittings to hold them in place.
We require two pairs of strapping bridges, fastened to the footwell sides with 5mm pan head screws.
The straps are made from 25mm braided tape, secured with two pairs of adjustable sliding buckles.
I did a test fit by holding the bridges in place with Blu Tack, just to see if it worked.
Like this.
And here is a close up of the buckle.
That all seemed to work just fine!
So, on our return from Tasmania I very carefully measured out and marked up the position of the strapping bridges, and drilled the pilot holes for the screws.
This is the tool kit required for the job.
Then the fittings were installed and the bags strapped in place.
This is the starboard buoyancy bag, fully installed.
And here again is a buckle in close up.
The final task was to mark off the required length of the straps, like this.
And then cut them both to equal lengths with the hot knife, using an upturned cup as an anvil, like this.
That's it. Job done!
The bags and straps were then removed and stored away to await refitting when painting is complete.
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