Nice work! I don't vacuum bag much but I know at work they have huge extra folds in the bag for relief around 90 degree bends.

I will drop my boat off for you to rehab after you iron out the details on yours 😁

If it were me, I'd put the cap on before glassing in your forward deck. It's a pain but probably worth it.

BTW, fishing isn't bad down by your camp. Got a 38" striper and 34" blue in 10 minutes. I'm a few miles west, though.

Nice! I'm headed down this weekend and we will see what's there. I've already caught some fatties this year. My girl has caught the best fish of the season so far since I cant count the one my buddy lost due to "poor fish handling skills" once I had it next to the boat.

I hear what you're saying and thats my thought too on the cap. I'm just so damn anxious to get this in there and I still have to recore the cap before I put it on! It all has to get done though...I'd be pretty pissed if I went this far and maintained my shape and screwed the pooch on the forward deck.

So I have a question about coring the cap. I see a lot of you add coring. My cap has coring on the wide portion of the bow only. I am eliminating the "liner" and will be using stiffeners every few feet to support the cap/hull. Is there any benefit to adding coring along the whole length of the cap? Its pretty narrow and I just wasn't sure if it was needed.

The fishing was fantastic in RI this weekend. My 13 year old nephew had a blast. He caught a 37" bass on the first day and a 38 the next. In between a ton of 30" blues.

There is progress! Having the "boathouse" has definitely sped up my work. The front step is all glassed in. I made ledger boards along the leading edge out of divinycell and 1708, then used thickened vinyl ester to bond the step to the hull. The last step was to attach it all along the edges with 2 layers of 1708 after a slight fillet with thickened resin. Also the cap has been reattached with a liberal amount of 5200 and 1/4" rivets with back up washers. Its starting to look like a boat again!

Next on the list is a pair of transom boxes. I plan to make a similar setup as "Mark's 1971 CC" that is in the photo section of the site. That is what that other picture is from. I just love the clean and simple look of that boat.

My boat has coring the entire length of the cap. It too has no liner supporting the cap. I found that the coring helped strength the cap for mounting rod holders, cleats and such and reduced cracking.

Nice job on your hull.

Thanks for the kind words. I did extend the divinycell coring a lot farther back than the old balsa was, but not all the way. I guess time will tell. Pretty amazing how good of condition the old balsa was in the areas that stayed dry. The screws for the bow light had let it get wet so about 6 inches of it was rotten but the rest was perfectly fine.

With the front step all glassed in, it is time to move on to the transom boxes. MDF mold with plenty of PVA. I've started skipping the wax. I was using partall paste and then PVA, but just straight pva seems to work perfectly. I did seal the mold with thinned resin first to keep the pva from soaking in, but I forgot to do that to the gutter portion. Didn't seem to matter. Came right out. The mold is made from scraps that were left over from the CNC process of the hatch molds for the front compartment. That is what that line of grey is. I filled a 1mm deep trench with clay to keep it from showing in the final part. I know I'll be spraying the whole thing in a high build primer and sanding for weeks, so that is why I'm not making molds that have a finished surface. I just need the shape. All in all, I'm pleased.

The plan is to make removable tub inserts for both boxes. I'll leave a lip for them to rest on when I cut out the opening.

Damn, that's some nice work right there. Thanks for the description of the clay in the mold from front hatch. Had my mind bending...haha. Keep the pics coming!

Vezo.

So I have both boxes done and their covers. Still working on trimming for best fit/alignment but that wont be too bad. Someone was asking what my plans were for the molds. They were built as one time molds and I really had to work to get them out of the part. Not because of resin, but just basic geometry and friction. I added a picture of what was left of the mold for the front platform. I thought about making them durable for multi-use, but decided not to waste any more time and just get it done.

So I now have the forward compartment (maybe anchor locker) bulkhead made and attached as well as 2 of the 6 "ribs" that I'll have along the hull.

I used an improvised version of vacuum bagging to do the bulkhead and the ribs. I used my big dust collector as a vac source and some trash bags as the bags. Still used peel ply and and breather fabric, but using a high volume vacuum source was so easy. It doesn't apply nearly the vacuum that a true vac bag setup would, but it works fine on parts that just need some clamping force. In this case, wrapping 2 layers of 24oz glass around those foam blocks was super easy. I just wrapped the glass, put on the peel ply and breather fabric, tossed it in the bag and turned on the dust collector while gently smoothing the glass into place. No need to seal leaks because of the volume of air that thing moves.

The ribs are to hold up the cap, and to add rigidity to the hull. (I did not do any bulkheads below deck). If I were to build them again, I think I might not make these two forward stiffeners so thick. I happened to have some thick 4lb foam blocks (surfboard foam?) so I used them. I think they just look a bit bulky. I'm hopeful that I have enough resin and good weather left to get the other 4 stiffeners done before I shut down for the winter. Once I get to that point, all of the major fabrication except for the console will be complete and I can start the 2 year process of fairing/sanding :)

Lookin good. Itchy yet?

Ya know, I've actually developed a pretty decent system for reducing the itch. Before doing any itchy operations, I generously douse all exposed skin with baby powder and really work it into the pores. While I'm working I keep the air blower nearby and frequently blow myself off. When I'm done for the day, a shower as cold as I can stand seems to wash it off without letting it into the skin. Sometimes I still itch a little, but nothing like before when I'd just go at it with a grinder and "grin and bear" the itch for 2 days. Also, best thing I ever bought was a full face mask/respirator. Keeps the whole face clear and doesn't fog up.

That is some really fine work

Been stalking this project for awhile. Damn impressive - especially since I look at the pix of your molds and the finished product and I realize I just don't have the mind for it. All the forethought to design and then build the mold - all in reverse; lips, flanges, drains etc. I get dizzy thinking about it !

Very nice work and craftsmanship.