Jahazi: Hull fairing and sheathing (2011)

Introduction

"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea"
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

With that in mind one may think that anybody with a passion for the sea can build an ocean going yacht. But be warned! It is not something that can be taken lightly. It takes time and dedication.This project was started in 2004 with the purchase of plans for the Didi 34. Although almost finished, it is still ongoing.

Friday, 30 December 2011

Hull fairing and sheathing (2011)

Although the building plans do not specify adding a fibreglass layer to the outside of the hull, I did so for a little more protection. It was a lot more work, but it ensures that there is a thick enough epoxy layer applied to the outside for protecting the wood against abrasion and nicks caused by floating debris once in the water.

Before I started on the application of the fiberglass layer, I trimmed the stern and cut the V-shape for the transom hung rudder. The hull was also faired and all screw holes filled with epoxy. The hull was then sealed with a low viscosity penetration layer of epoxy. Onto this layer I applied the glass with the dry sheathing method. Basically, this means that the fabric cloth was placed in position, the epoxy resin poured over the cloth and by using a rubber squeegee, the resin was worked into the fabric to wet it out thoroughly and to remove excess epoxy. I over-coated the laminate with a high viscosity thickened epoxy while the epoxy was still tacky. Thereafter the laminate was sanded and faired before a UV protective layer was applied. It took me 159 work hours to finish the hull.