Fairing 2
Fairing the Chine/Sheer/Stem on the starboard side is basically finished. Here is a photo of the port sheer before fairing and a second photo of the starboard chine after fairing. You can see how each side of the faired chine is now a smooth extension of the frame it is attached to.
To achieve this the fairing took about 6 hours of work for just one side. This is where the extra strength of the purple heart wood works against you. It doesnt sand or plane nearly as easily as mahogany, its much more dense. First, I used my electric hand planer to take off the majority of the material to be faired. When the purple heart was near the level of the mahogany frame I switched to a large, heavy, hand-held belt sander with 80 grit paper to get down even with the frames. The planer tends to chip the frame if you use it too close to the frames surface so its important to switch to the belt sander before you get too much material off. I finished the fairing by using a small lightweight belt sander with 120 grit to take out any bumps or valleys lengthwise. Its important to get rid of any uneven dips because the plywood planking needs a smooth surface to bond/screw into and also will follow the exact curve once attached. I dont want to see wavy-ness ON my boat, i want to see waves being made BY my boat.
To check for a smooth chine and sheer I attached a scrap piece of 1/4" ply to the side of the boat. I will be planking the entire boat with 1/4" ply of a yet undetermined species of 4x8 sheets. I should be able to do each side panel out of 1, 4x8 sheet cut in half lenthwise to achieve the 16ft length and butt joined in the middle of the side of the boat. The very bottom of the boat will be done out of 2 more 4x8 sheets split lenthwise and butt joined at the middle of the keel as well as halfway from stern to bow. I'll be making a trip to Northwest Lumber soon to pick out 4 of the nicest marine ply sheets I can get.
Anyway, here is a picture of the test fitting. I like the fit, I didnt notice any dips, just nice and smooth. I tested all the way forward and aft. Now I just have to do the other side of the boat just as nice.
To achieve this the fairing took about 6 hours of work for just one side. This is where the extra strength of the purple heart wood works against you. It doesnt sand or plane nearly as easily as mahogany, its much more dense. First, I used my electric hand planer to take off the majority of the material to be faired. When the purple heart was near the level of the mahogany frame I switched to a large, heavy, hand-held belt sander with 80 grit paper to get down even with the frames. The planer tends to chip the frame if you use it too close to the frames surface so its important to switch to the belt sander before you get too much material off. I finished the fairing by using a small lightweight belt sander with 120 grit to take out any bumps or valleys lengthwise. Its important to get rid of any uneven dips because the plywood planking needs a smooth surface to bond/screw into and also will follow the exact curve once attached. I dont want to see wavy-ness ON my boat, i want to see waves being made BY my boat.
To check for a smooth chine and sheer I attached a scrap piece of 1/4" ply to the side of the boat. I will be planking the entire boat with 1/4" ply of a yet undetermined species of 4x8 sheets. I should be able to do each side panel out of 1, 4x8 sheet cut in half lenthwise to achieve the 16ft length and butt joined in the middle of the side of the boat. The very bottom of the boat will be done out of 2 more 4x8 sheets split lenthwise and butt joined at the middle of the keel as well as halfway from stern to bow. I'll be making a trip to Northwest Lumber soon to pick out 4 of the nicest marine ply sheets I can get.
Anyway, here is a picture of the test fitting. I like the fit, I didnt notice any dips, just nice and smooth. I tested all the way forward and aft. Now I just have to do the other side of the boat just as nice.
posted by vupilot at Tuesday, August 04, 2009
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