Date

What did I do today?

Hours

9-25-99
AM

Glassed one side of each H1F and the H1D panels and then added the missing extensions to the H7 panels.  I hot glued H1 to H6, and one H1F to each H7 panel.  I also made a small change to H6.  I cut the aft edge off and rotated it around so that the wood reinforcing strip is now 7" forward of the back edge of the panel.  I saw this on another builder's web site and its done to allow a larger rear deck area for the installation of 2 engines.  I may add a second engine later, so I am doing the modification now.

4.00

9-25-99
PM

Hot glued each H7 panel to the H6 & H1 panels.  Hot glued triangular foam strips, cut from scraps, to use as fillet material on all 90 degree panel joints.  They were cut in minutes on the table saw and created a nice corner for laying the glass over without using putty.  It also made the structure a little more rigid as well.  Filled and smoothed all non-90 degree joints and any depressions with Isophthalic Putty.  Started cutting the fiberglass taping for all the joints.  I'm using 4", 1708 biaxial tape here also.  I was almost done but I had to put everything away real fast when one of our infamous afternoon thunderstorms rolled in.

2.00

9-26-99

 Finished cutting glass tape.  Applied resin to all taped joints except one, it started raining again!  I got a short reprieve from the rain and got the last piece of taping done.  I'll need to wait for a dry day to continue now.

2.00

9-27-99

Fabricated 2 fore/aft stringers for the cockpit sides.  Made three 10' planks into two 14' planks by splitting one and splicing it to the other two.  Epoxied and screwed together with a lap type joint.

0.75

10-4-99

Started to install the 4 bow panels.  I hot glued H8A in place and when I went to install an H9 panel it wouldn't fit!  I soon realized I had installed the H7 panels backwards!  So, I had to cut the pointed ends off the front and bevel the edge for the H9 panels.  I will glass the cut off pieces onto the aft end of the H7's later.  I hot glued and filled the gaps around the H8A and H9 panel and placed several small pieces of glass taping across the joints to secure the panels together while I install the other H9 and the H8B panel.

1.50

10-6-99

Installed the H9 panel.  Filled all the joints with putty and secured with small pieces of glass taping.  I had to cut the exposed foam (the outside surface) with a razor knife to allow the panel to bend easily.  This is the panel that got too hot and warped when I first laid glass on it.  Slicing the foam worked well to solve this problem.  The slits should fill with resin when I glass the outside surface of the hull.

1.50

10-8-99

Trimmed, fit and installed the H8B panel.  Filled the joints with putty and secured with small peices of glass taping.  The corners of H7 & H8B panels came within 0.25" of the measurements shown in the plans.  The next step is to get the all the bow panels taped together permanantly.

1.00

10-9-99

Cut and glassed taping for the bow panel seams.  Cut the notches in the upper bow corners for the deck stringers.  Glued and screwed the deck stringers to the bow panels and the H1 panel.

2.50

10-10-99

Layed out, cut and installed the wooden bow piece that joins the two stringers across the very front.  Cut and installed the wooden braces from the H7 panels to the stringers.  Cut and installed the wooden diagonal braces from H1 to the H7 panels.  Sanded smooth most of the joints and edges that were assembled today.  The epoxy really oozes out of those joints pretty good!  The hull has finally taken on a recognizeable shape and is beginning to show me what the craft will actually look like!  It was a very long and tiring day, but it was really worth it with all the progress that I made.

6.50

This is the beginning of the main hull assembly.  It has finally taken on a recognizable shape but is
still a long way from being completed.  I am learning that it is not quite as difficult to assemble the peices
as I had originally thought it would be.  The plans are not always the easiest to follow but so far I have
been able to find all the dimensions and other information I need with a little digging. 

Please follow me along to the next construction phase as I begin to assemble the rear engine deck and
quarter panels.  I am really interested in getting a perspective on how big the craft will really be!
On the the rear deck assembly!

TOTAL TIME THIS PHASE.....

50.50