Centerboard Fiberglassing

Before I could continue with the fiberglassing of the centerboard I needed to do a little cleanup.  I had some low spots in the lead pour that needed to be filled in.

In addition, as noted in a previous post there were some bubbles in the edge reinforcement epoxy.  I filled these in and then did a final sanding so that the fiberglass would lay smooth.

The epoxy went on smooth and looks good.

The leading and trailing edge came out very nice.  Too nice for something that in the end won't be seen by anybody!

While I was waiting for epoxy to dry I needed to take care of the over pour in the front of the keel.  I found a technique that worked very well without much muss or fuss.  I took a cheap 1" chisel and a mallet and simply chiseled out the overfill.  Much easier than trying to sand it out in this cramped space!  Didn't seem to harm the chisel too much either.  About 5 minutes on the sharpening stones and it was as good as new (although I wouldn't try this with one of my expensive chisels).

Hours this session: 4
Hours total: 47
Hours remaining: 355

Centerboard Shaping

I wanted to finish something so I thought it would be easy to get the centerboard finished.  The first task was to grind out the lead overfill.  Turned out this was tougher than it sounds.  Even with a belt sander it took quite a while.  Hint:  Keep the belt sander on low or the belt will over heat and break (voice of experience).

For some reason the leading edge developed quite a few bubbles in the epoxy reinforcement.  Pictured below is the biggest one.

But there are several smaller ones.  These will be easy to fill... just annoying.  Despite this I was able to get a just about perfect (IMHO) leading edge shape.

The trailing edge didn't seem to have that problem.  Might have been the viscosity of each pour.  I dunno.

I didn't finish the opposite side of the trailing edge.  Got tired and gave up for the evening.

Hours this session: 4
Hours total: 43
Hours remaining: 359

Lead Pour

I put on all the requisite gear, boots, long pants, long shirt, respirator, eye protection, welders gloves etc.  Fired up the turkey cooker and started melting lead.  I sourced the lead from a web site.  My wife supposedly had a "source" but it fell through so rather than trying to scrounge at the last minute I just took the easy (and more expensive) way out.

Below is my driveway foundry.  So with my daughter acting as a safety observer I started pouring lead.

I started with the center board.  I leveled it in all directions and started pouring.  I found it difficult to tip the teapot using only the handle.  First I tried to use a stick under it to help lift the rear.  Later I found a small pry bar in my garage that made it a little easier.  It took three pours to fill the cavity.  I over did the last pour a little so I'll have to sand it down later.

Then came the small pour at the front of the keel.  This one went a little better because I could rest the crucible on the brick and tilt it.  Although I did over do it a little.

While I was waiting for the keel to set up I took the backing off the center board to have a look.

It turned out pretty nice.  There are a couple of bubble holes that will need to be filled.

After the front cooled a little to be manageable I blocked up the front get the rear section as level as possible.

About eight pours later and I was done.

This was the first time I've ever messed with melting lead on a large scale.  It was a little bit more physically demanding that I anticipated.  The equipment was so hot that it was uncomfortable right though the welding gloves.  I had to take a break as for the first time in weeks there was some light rain here in central florida.  I guess pouring lead is like planning a picnic, or washing you car, as soon as you do It'll rain.

The lead that I purchased was unrefined and contained a lot of "dross" that needed to be spooned off before each pour.  That was hot work.

I can't say I enjoyed doing this part.  It was interesting and I guess I get to punch a new hole in my "man card", but I'd rather not do this a lot.  My back doesn't like the work!

Hours this session: 6
Hours total: 39
Hours remaining: 363

Centerboard Edge Treatment

Per the manual I wanted to reinforce the edges of the centerboard.  This involves excavating a groove in the edge and then filling it with epoxy putty that is high in silica.  Once the edge is shaped the hard epoxy protects the softer wood from dings when it comes in contact with underwater objects (in theory).

The groove was cut with the table saw.  The hardest part of this was keeping the awkward centerboard in true contact with the table saw fence.

I filled in the trailing edge first and let it set.  I should probably have used a "cake icing" bag to do this but I free handed it.  Was a little messy but not too bad.

Once it was dry I mixed up another batch of filler and did the leading edge.  The packing tape does a better job of keeping all the filler in place while it dries.

I didn't take any pictures but I did glue the puzzle joint of the keelson together.  It went very easy.  Used a large battery to weight it down on my garage floor.  I must say I was a little tepid about the puzzle joint but I'm a convert.  CLC cuts the joint so perfect it would be very hard to mess it up.

Hours this session: 3
Hours total: 33
Hours remaining: 369

Keel Detail and Centerboard Construction

Cleaned up the epoxy squeeze out from the keel and then applied the 1/2" round over router bit to the bottoms of the keel and the front of the centerboard trunk.  It turned out pretty nice.

With the keel and trunk finished (awaiting the lead pour).  I turned my attention to the centerboard itself. The first step was to excavate the ledge around where the led gets poured.  This, when glued to its mirror image creates a slot that keep the lead from falling out.

The laser cut pieces from CLC come partially pre-excavated.  But you have to use a router to remove the extra wood to create the ledge.

Lots of glue, clams and weight and the centerboard is assembled.

Next up I assemble the keelson.

Hours this session: 3
Hours total: 30
Hours remaining: 372

Keel Glue-Up

After checking everything about 10 times I mixed up some epoxy and went to work glueing and clamping.

first I glued the framing and the centerboard trunk to the starboard side of the keel.

At the same time I added the nose block and the little bit of framing that sits just behind it.

After that set up I then glued the port side of the keel to the assembly with some additional weight to get everything in alignment.

The finished product looks pretty nice.

The process wasn't quite as straight forward as above.  I accidentally glued the shims to the keel.  A little heat and little sanding removed this easily.  I was a little concerned because the rear area of the keel seemed to have a little warp in it.  I steamed it with a steam cleaner that my wife has and then weighted it to correct the small warp.  That worked perfectly and now everything is in alignment.

Next up:  cleaning up with some sanding and then rounding over the edges with a router.

Hours this session: 4
Hours total: 27
Hours remaining: 375

Keel Build Out

Ok.  I finally was able to get a nice taper on the back lower keel frame.  It required that I actually learn how to set up my new band saw.  After a few test cuts I got it dialed in and the rest was easy.

I've seen some other blogs where the builder has had problems with the keel coming off the lay up warped.  This might be related to the manual not telling you much about blocking up the back of the keel to make up for the taper.  I think it's mentioned only in passing.  I used the scrap from the taper cuts to block up the keel.  It seems to have worked nicely.

Next up I make this permanent.

Hours this session: 3
Hours total: 23
Hours remaining: 379