Project Log: Wednesday, February 2, 2011
To close off the ends of the tankage compartments, I
needed some small transverse bulkheads. After some
thought, I elected to maintain these at the same height
as their longitudinal counterparts; I'd add to their
height later as needed, once I determined how the whole
area would grow from the foundations I was installing
now.
To that end, I created cardboard templates of the shape
required, then cut and fitted the bulkheads from more
12mm marine Meranti plywood. I secured the new
bulkheads in place, square, plumb, and level, with epoxy
adhesive, supplemented with some dabs of hot glue to
hold the piece to the end of the longitudinal bulkhead
and a temporary clamping block to hold the hull end. |
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Later, when the adhesive had cured sufficiently, I
removed the clamps and installed epoxy fillets at the
edges of the new bulkhead (keeping them to a bare
minimum on the inside since I didn't want to impinge on
the space required for the tanks' clearance), then
installed biaxial tabbing inside and out, including over
the corner between the two bulkheads to secure them
together. I let the excess tabbing at the hull end
extend over the top of the plywood for later trimming.
While I was at it, I epoxy-coated the bare plywood
inside the space. |
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The centerline fuel tank beneath the cockpit--the
original location--required a platform to rest upon,
which would also ease installation. With the tank
on the bench, I cut a 12mm plywood section a bit larger
in width and the same in length as the bottom of the
tank, then added some 18mm side pieces, which would act
to hold the tank in place on the platform, give me a
place to tab the platform to the hull, and provide
mounting structures for tankage straps. |
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After epoxy-coating the plywood edge grain, I secured
the sides to the platform with 2" stainless steel screws
and thickened epoxy adhesive, which I also used to
create a small fillet at the inside corners. Then,
I reinforced the joint further with a layer of 6"
biaxial tabbing. I left the assembly to cure
overnight. |
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Total Time Today: 6 hours
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