Last weekend was very nice. Up in the 60's / almost 70. I was able to do some work. For the Rudder, I was able to epoxy up one side and it has been curing for a few days. This weekend I plan to epoxy the other side. I used a combination of many clamps as well as some free weights to make sure I had enough pressure.
Below is a picture of everything all clamped up. I am using some work lights to help with the curing.
With using epoxy in the winter months, it seems to thicken up to the point it is hard to pump out the resin and hardener. I store the epoxy inside in my utility room and move it into the garage when I am planning on doing some work. I also bought new pumps for both, but it still seems to be hard to pump. This past weekend, I used a work lamp and shined it on the epoxy. I think this really helped with the flow. It was enough heat to keep the containers warm. By the way in the winter months, I use the small jugs and fill them up from the larger 5 gallon ones. Easier to move around.
While one side of the rudder is curing, I decided to work on the companion way trim. This was a little bit of wood working, but fun all the same. For both side pieces, you need to find the angle of the cabin decking. This was easy using a T-bevel. I then took this angle and adjusted the bandsaw / tilting the table to the angle and using the rip guide. The 2 side pieces were already milled from purchasing the timber kit, but I just had to cut. I cut one and tried it on both sides to make sure it fit properly. Without moving the bandsaw, I cut the other side piece.
The manual tells you about the one angle of the cabin decking, but looking at the plan drawings, it shows the topside cut at an angle as well. I forgot to mention that I used the rip guide on the bandsaw. For the second cut, I kept the exact same angle, but had to adjust the rip guide.
I guess if you are milling your own pieces, you would have more to work with except for the 1 inch board that I had. I didn't want to take too much wood off. Below is a picture of both port and starboard trim pieces. I guess the topside angle will cause any water to drip off to the outside.
Picture showing the too cut pieces. Oh the cat litter box with the top is what I store my epoxy in to take it into the house. It doesn't smell, but didn't want any comments from the boss!!! Out of sight, out of mind!
For the bow section part of the trim, I took a scrap piece of wood to use as a pattern. It was wide enough to fit inside the opening, so I could mark the angle going all the way across. I decided to make an exact template to then use to cutout the final piece. If you look at the piece on the left, you will see a pencil mark. This is the height I got from the 2 side pieces. I cut that out and then cut the final piece using that as a template. I first made sure the test piece fit right and it did.
I will be trimming the long pieces later this week and doing the other side of the rudder. With it still being cold, I will start on the companion way hood. This should give me plenty of work to do.
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