Fibreglass | Footwell

The sides of the footwell had been half covered by fibreglass cloth overlaps when the cockpit was 'glassed.

It remained for the footwell sole and the bottom half of the sides to be covered.

Again, it was easy to make a pattern and be sure that the 'glass panel would fit correctly.

I measured the footwell and made a scale drawing of the 'glass panel required to complete covering it, including overlaps where necessary.

Here is the drawing.

The measurements were transcribed onto a full size paper pattern which was then used to cut out a 'glass panel.

Here is the footwell after the panel had been installed and wetted out.

Every time I look at that footwell it seems just a bit too narrow for comfort, but it is what it is ...

Fibreglass | Rear Cabin Wall

The rear cabin wall is not a complex shape but it is a large area with long right angle edges in the companionway, so a pattern was required.

It was easy enough to measure the panel and transcribe its shape to a paper pattern, as here.

The big aluminium roofer's square is ideal for marking out large right angle joins.

This is the pattern, clipped in place for a test fit.

The overlaps from the cabin top were sanded and feather edged, as here.

And lastly the 'glass panel was fitted and wetted out, like this.

Progress is good!

Fibreglass | Forward Cabin Wall & Dorade Boxes

Unlike the cabin tops and cockpit deck, the forward cabin wall is a complex shape and a pattern is required if we are to cover it with a single piece of 'glass cloth.

So I measured the various panels that comprise the forward cabin wall and Dorade boxes and marked them out on a paper pattern. I also scribed in the curve of the cabin roof.

This is the paper panel on the bench.

It was a good fit in the boat, as here.

A panel of 'glass cloth was cut using the pattern and dry fitted to the cabin wall, like this.

 Finally it was carefully wetted out with clear resin, working from the top down and centreline outwards to stop the cloth from falling onto the deck. It went well and looked like this.

Wetting out is satisfying because it covers a large area very quickly!

Fibreglass | Cockpit Deck

Time to 'glass the cockpit deck.

After some pondering I decided to used a single full width sheet of cloth laid down the centre of the cockpit, leaving a small area on each side to be covered by overlaps from the seatbacks.

I would also be able to have a generous overlap down into the footwell.

In this way I could cover almost all the deck with a single piece of cloth, with no overlapping seam along the middle.

First I removed the cardboard covers that protect the watertight locker interiors. As here.

I laid some plastic dust sheeting in the locker bottoms, to catch any epoxy drips. Like this.

Then I laid a sheet of cloth in the cockpit, cutting for overlaps onto the transom and the rear cabin wall and down onto the footwell sides. It looked like this.

Like the cabin tops and topsides, minimal measuring and cutting were required.

Finally all was wetted out with clear resin and left to cure. Here is the front view from port.

We're getting there!

Fibreglass | Cabin Roof & Topsides

When the fillets were all smooth and ready for 'glass I laid a sheet of cloth on each side of the cabin roof, overlapping onto the topsides and across the chine onto the lower hull.

Here is the cloth laid out on the cabin top, Dorade box and topside on the port side.

I cut nice wide overlaps all around.

Here is the same side viewed from the rear.

The humble wall paper brush is the best tool I have found for smoothing the cloth into place. It doesn't snag or catch the weave.

The same process was carried out on the starboard side of the boat, as here.

This was quite straightforward, with very little cutting to get neat overlaps on the front and rear cabin walls.

A full width sheet of cloth was used and allowed to fall down over the chine onto the lower hull sides.

The cloth was then wetted out with a disposable roller. This is the view from port at the front of the boat.

Note that I have cut away the top of the cradle support arms to allow the cloth to overlap the chine.

And here is the same side viewed from the rear.

Lastly, here is the view from starboard at the front of the boat.

There are generous overlaps all round.

Finish Sanding Fillets

Before any fibreglass fabric could be applied to the upper hull, all the fillets would have to be made smooth to receive the cloth.

Sanding was tedious but straight forward, mostly carried out with the 90mm random orbital sander fitted with a soft sanding head so it could follow the contours of the fillets.

Here are the finished fillets in the cockpit and on the rear cabin wall.

And here are the transom and footwell fillets.

 Time to cut 'glass!

Transom Skirt Trim | Making & Fitting The Upper Laminate

I made the upper laminate while the lower one was curing on the boat.

As with the lower one the manual tells us to use a table saw to cut a 30 degree bevel to make the upper laminate.

And again in the absence of a table saw, the upper piece was  marked up and planed to the required section.

The manual also states that the upper laminate will be easier to bend into place than the lower. A test bend by hand quickly demonstrated that this was not to be the case with my trim.

Perhaps it was the relatively stiff Sapele which I am using. In the manual it looks like the builder is using softwood.

Anyway, I used plenty of temporary screws driven into the lower laminate to pull the upper piece into place for a test fit, as here.

In this pic I am using a long sliding clamp to hold the starboard end in place, with a sawhorse holding the clamp against the hull to stop it springing off.

I label everything to avoid confusion about which face is which, like this.

As with the lower laminate, a secondary bevel was required at each end of the upper piece where it lands on the seatback top.

I was a bit over enthusiastic with the plane on the port secondary bevel, so I filled the small gap with a couple of slivers of Sapele. No problem. 

Here is a view from port of the upper laminate permanently glued in place.

A sliding clamp was necessary at each end to hold them snugly down while curing.

When well and truly cured I cleaned up the trim piece with the jack and block planes, as here.

I used a bevel gauge to make sure that the top of the trim was flat and even all across the stern, like this.

A good chisel was useful for finely paring the ends to shape, as here.

This is a view from starboard of the finished trim piece, sanded and rounded over.

It adds strength to the top of the transom as well as looking good.

This is what the starboard end of the upper laminate looks like, where it lands on the seatback top.

That's the transom skirt finished.

The next task is to cover the whole upper hull with fibreglass cloth - should be fun!