June 2023 : Let the fibreglass sheathing begin

 At this point I had prepared everything for the fibreglass sheathing. Chines, transom & stem  have been taped & sanded.  I had an offer from some mates in the industry to help me do the fibreglass sheathing. A job that would have taken me considerable time on my own. Chris, Alec & David ( Hatchy ) and two of Chris's trades assistants, Julian & Alejandro came over to help. So with 4 shipwrights & two TA's we managed to do 2 layers of 600 gsm Double Bias & peel ply over the entire hull in 5 hours. Not a bad effort. A late lunch & a few beers after we had everything cleaned up made for a great day. 

Many thanks to Chris and the boys from Koreman Marine Composites ( KMC ).     

Cutting & fitting all of the fibreglass before any rein is mixed 

Chris, Hatchy, Alec. Great friends & great Boatbuilders

I've known these guys for many years & worked on projects together 

Alec (the younger looking bearded one) did his apprenticeship with me & has been a tradesman for about 5 years now

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Many hands make light work. Two layers of 600 gsm double bias over the whole boat. We overlapped the fibreglass on the bottom panel of the hull, so the bottom panel had 4 layers. A bit of extra weight but a lot more strength. Especially around the area where the keel bolts to the hull.

 

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The A Team

Job finished, cleaned up, a couple beers and a feed. A great day. 

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Before I put any filler on the boat I boarded the hull and the laps in the fibreglass to knock them down a little. Then I applied 2 coats of  high build primer. Then the fun begins, torture boarding. That is next months job.

For now it's back to paid work. 

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Products used for sheathing hull 

600 gsm Double Bias E Glass 2 layers + 

ATL Composites Australia  

 Kinetix 246 Thixotropic Laminating Epoxy Resin  

Kinetix 160 Medium Laminating Hardener 

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