Attach Deck Supports

Install Temporary Deck Supports and Deck Beam

Use zip ties and hot glue dots where needed to attach the temporary Deck Supports. DO NOT GLUE THESE IN PERMANENTLY.

Also use zip ties and to hold in place the deck beam. Make sue it is vertical and orientated properly. Reinforce the inside of the Deck beam with 1/2” fillets and tape with 6oz fiberglass tape. Glue in the “Mast Fill” 1-6 pieces at the center of the Deck beam. This will take the compression of the mast so do not be stingy on the use of thickened epoxy and fiberglass in this area. You want this to be the strongest part of the boat. Reinforce where the deck beam attaches to the hull panels, sweep a 1” fillet and use two layers of 6oz tape overlapping onto the panels a minimum of 2”. You will have a chance to reinforce the outside of this beam structure in a later step when the boat is upside down.

Source a 2 3/4” OD fiberglass tube of minimum 1/16” wall thickness (G10 tube from McMaster Carr is suitable) and attach it as shown through the front bulkheads. Alternatively you can make your own tube as follows. Find a pvc pipe with the correct outside diameter that matches the inside diameter of the tube you are making. Make sure it is free of gouges and scratches. It is ok to sand the tube if necessary to 1000 grit to make it smooth. Apply 3 generous coats of mold release wax to the tube. Laminate a single layer of 6oz cloth around the tube and let cure. Use a razor knife to cut through the laminate the length of the tube. Remove the laminate from the tube and sand the outside laminate. Then put a strip of masking tape on the pvc pipe covering the scratch you made with the razor knife. Apply another coat of wax and then put the split laminate back on the pipe orientating the split over the masking tape. Now laminate the rest of your fiberglass thickness over this first laminate. You are shooting for at least 1/16” of wall thickness and you will need to do the laminating in a couple of sessions to keep things tidy. Once cured remove the laminate from the pvc pipe.. It may take some force to get it to come off.

Once the tube is trimmed and sanded epoxy it into the boat leaving roughly an extra inch of tube protruding from the bow and internal bulkhead. Apply generous fillets and two layers of fiberglass tape at all intersections including along its length at the deck stringer.

Glue in a G10 fiberglass tube into the bow as shown. The tube should have a inside diameter of 1/2” and a minimum wall thickness of 1/16”. This will be for lashing on a dolphin striker which is a spectra line that supports the loads onto the end of the bowsprit when it is fully extended. It is best to drill an oversize hole for this which will be backfilled with epoxy with cabosil thickener. If this hole breaches the inside of the bow floatation tank, apply a nice fillet and a layer of glass over the tube from the inside. Once the epoxy sets up then trim off the excess tube ends flush to the hull.

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