Sunday, January 10, 2010

Beam mounts in the hull

I got all four beam mounts tacked in.  I was very particular on getting the height and lateral placement correct but found that the bulkheads was so correct placed in the first place, that I didn't bother to check the vertical angle and just tacked the mounts firmly to the bulkhead.  The result is almost perfect.Phone camera picture showing aft side of starboard front beam mount tacked to the bulkhead:


Port front beam mount looking aft.


Port front beam mount from the outside.  Note there is no forward lower folding strut flange as seen in blogs from earlier builders like Menno and Jay.  Farrier is developing his design, and I got a middle stage in the beam mount development, now they are even easier to install. 


Now, using the lower folding strut bracket mould provided with the beam mount, I prepared to laminate the aft forward lower beam mount bracket.  This was a good time to adjust the one or so degree vertical misalignment, using a clamp between hull and mould.  I filled the gap between mould and hull with foam from the outside and filled and rounded transitions with epoxy/micro-balloons/silica from the inside. 


Then laminated the lower strut mounting flanges as per plan, using carbon rather than glass (same fabric weights), so they should be very beefy.


Cockpit view:

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