3395Hrs – Mast Case Getting There

It’s turned a bit colder these last few days so the epoxy is not curing fully. I found this out today when I tried to sand some back with the belt sander and it just clogged the belt.

The mast case is too big to fit in my warm epoxy shack so I’ll just have to be patient. It’s not really holding me up at the moment but I may have to delay final finishing.

Today I got the last large pieces of timber and ply glued in place, all that’s left now is to finish off the blanking pieces at the end of the case.

As you can see in the picture below I’ve added additional Utile hardwood strengthening strips to the upper edges of the case , I didn’t have enough to go full length but as most of the stress is introduced aft of the mast, and given that I’ve doubled up the 18mm ply at the forward end I’m happy it’s plenty strong enough.

I did spend a bit of time playing with my ideas for a pulpit but I’ve decided to make it a post launch project. There will be many things I’ll want to modify and/or improve down the road but for now I must focus my efforts on getting the boat built.

Thanks to Björn for his suggestions about modifying the tabernacles so that the masts can be lowered more easily, it’s an interesting idea but I’m now committed to building as per plan, no doubt there will come a day when I’ll kick myself and wish I’d taken his advice but there it is!