Bunks

With all the focus on getting the hull finished and upright. It took me a while to think about what to do next.
Here you can see the first of the bunk panels being made. The 9mm ply here seems strong enough without any bracing needed.

I have been using an electric planer and the power file again proving very useful here to shape the panels. At about 900mm wide and 2 metres long this aft bunk should be a nice place to get some rest or sleep.

Right way up

A major milestone here as the first hull is turned over. It turned out to be easier than I thought after a test lift showed it wasn't too heavy. 4 people kindly gave me a hand to do the job. The boat was basically turned by one person lifting the bow and another lifting the stern while the rest of us guiding it and putting supports in place.

I took the opportunity to weigh it at this stage and it is currently 87Kg's. I hope I'm on target for the designed weight. It looks a lot smaller now but is much more interesting.

Paint

Got some paint on the boat now. I have used 2 part primer and a 2 part top coat below the water line using small rollers and a brush.

I have still not decided on a colour scheme for the top sides but have primed anyway.

Also, the rudders have had the same treatment and are pretty much finished!

Fittings

Now is a good time to put in the bolt for the fore stay.
I have used thickened epoxy in an oversize hole and backed with a washer. Then filled with epoxy filler and faired. The plastic you can see in the photo is just food wrapping plastic, which I use for most jobs like this where you want to be sure you get enough filler and reduce sanding.

Also I have drilled the holes for the rudder gudgeon's. I had these gudgeon's made up by a local workshop in 316 stainless to the designers specifications.

Painting Prep

With the cloth on, the bottom of the boat now just needs to be painted. Sounds easy but lots of prep to do. Not only to the boat, but also the rudders which are now at the same stage so might as well do them at the same time.

Here you can see I have added some west 407 filler to the boat and rudders. Then sanded smooth.

Lots of sanding here. I hope the neighbours forgive me. The boat acts like a speaker box when machine sanding, it was loud.

Boat cloth

I have covered the bottom of the hull with 200gsm fibreglass cloth. With two layers on the keel for extra protection as I plan to beach the boat a lot.
I started by applying the first layer on the keel only and cut it along the chine with a blade while the epoxy was still at the gel stage. Then applied a second layer over the whole hull.

 I was reminded of why I don't much enjoy doing fibreglass work during this session. The second layer took 5 hours non stop.

It has been very cold in Auckland lately but fortunately my garage is a fairly controlled enviroment and with a heater and dehumidifier I am able to do this kind of work.

I am mostly happy with the result. A few runs here and there and a couple of air bubles to sort out. It seems a shame to add all this weight of cloth and resin to the boat, but it should make it last a long time with less maintenance.