The Yanmar 2GMF20 is moving aft in the boat compared to its original location. As I am a little unsure about the original layup, I wanted to add a fairly hefty carbon bed, not really to handle the static load, but rather overbuilt to handle the shake-weight problems one might expect in confused seas. At the same time, with the new keel scantlings, I felt the urge to get a larger buildup down the centerline aft of the trunk.
Here's the result after pulling off the bag and peel ply.
To start with, I suited up and spend a long, uncomfortable shift with the 5" grinder to get down to the substrate. Here you can see the plugged holes for the original saildrive, and inspection window.
I patterned the area with some 7mil mylar, and came up with a layup schedule that consisted of one large layer of plain weave, and a second layer of 400gsm DB90. Down the center, I used an off-cut of some extremely hardcore uni. I put a 16" wide band from the keel to the drop drive, and a 12" wide second layer that was stepped down in length as well. Here is a picture of the pattern, with white peel ply marked and cut underneath.
Here is what it looks like all bagged up. I put the heaters downstairs and left the Pro-Set to bake for 24 hours.
Since I was working in the vicinity, for the next step, I went ahead and tabbed in the inside DD housing with two layers of DB 90, one at 5.5" and one at 4" wide. I didn't get many pics of this step. First, I ran a rather large fillet, then while it was still gummy, I bagged down the two tape layers. It was actually quite difficult to get my bag sealed, and I was thanking baby Jesus for the long cure resin when I was struggling at 2am.
As an aside, did I mention consumables? Composite fabrication can generate a lot of trash. In fact, it generates much more than I foresaw when I began this mission four years ago. At my core, I want to do good for the earth, and there are moments that are definitely cringe-worthy.
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