Infusion of hull mold video

[jim lee]

One of the locals visited us when we shot our deck mold infusion. While we were running around shooting the mold, she shot video of us. Here's the results. Kinda' fun..

enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XU3VEsgmqs&feature=channel_page

-jim lee

[KnottyBuoyz]

Cool video Jim. That is an incredibly complex shape to infuse. Did you end up with any dry spots? Oh, it's not "monkey poop" it's technical name is "gorilla snot"! Just for the record! ;-)

[MarboMan]

Can you show us some pics of the demolding process?

It would be nice to see the finished part.

Thanks for your time making this video.

[jim lee]

Sure..

Here's the mold once the bag has been removed.. We had almost no problems with dry spots, except for the very rear starboard corner. Most of the problem was in the trim flange so it was cut off, but there was a little bit of hand work to fix it. The second part, covering the lower transom, we shot it later and that was a nightmare. I guess we were too cocky when we did that bit.

http://leftcoast.biz/justStuff/deckMoldBare.jpg

Now with the frame/car wheels added..

http://leftcoast.biz/justStuff/deckMoldWedge.jpg

And lastly, complete, ready to make a part.

http://leftcoast.biz/justStuff/deck1start.jpg

As it sits today with the first infused deck in it. We're building the cart for the deck as I type.

http://leftcoast.biz/justStuff/deckInMold.jpg

For more story and pictures.. Click on my "Left Coast" sig. link.

-jim lee

[Clinton B Chase]

Jim, I sent you an email. First, I love the video. I teach composites to high school kids and they will like this vodeo. I took interest in the fact that you are in a start up phase applying VIP to small boats. I am working on the same on the side; wanting to do it full time. I've been in wooden boatbuilding for several years.

Did you make a wood hull as a plug or make a dedicated plug for you boats you are infusing? I ask b/c the dilemma I want to figure out is whether to make a cedar strip-glassed hull #1 for a daysailor I have designed (and to finish that hull out for myself after the mold is made) or if I want to make a cheap plug and then toss the plug. I have heard about nightmares keeping a finish on a boat that was used to make a mold due to all the release agents used in the hull. I'd love to hear you thoughts.

Also, have you dipped your oar yet into the world of spar making?

Clint

[jim lee]

Clint, never got your e-mail. I did see that you signed up on our LC forum and had a look at your boat building school www site.

The hull mold :

The boat was designed in a CAD package. Then Leif took the hull shape he'd come up with and ran it in a sailing simulator for a few weeks doing changes 'till he got the performance he wanted out of it. This resulted in a 3D hull shape that we sent over to the local plug milling shop (Bayview Edison) They milled out the plug straight from the 3D model. From there we had the hull mold built by the local tooling people (Fast passage). So no, it was done straight from digital to mold. No prototype hull.

The deck :
We did the deck entirely by hand. The thinking was that this part is the bit the humans have to deal with, so let the humans build it. I'm really glad we decided to do it that way because, as the project progressed, there were things we decided to change. You look at something full size and think, "Oh that's really silly isn't it?" Out come the saws, hammers, prybars and there it goes.

Spars? Never tried building a spar.

-jim lee

[brokensheer]

Very nice , thank you for sharing this bit of work!

[Clinton B Chase]

Jim, I am investigating spar making. Definitely a commitment!

Glad you saw about the COmpass Project. I am worried that we won't get funding for the composites program. We are building ply-epoxy skiffs. The goal is to also make a composite skiff, VIP style. We'll see.

I'd love your thoughts on my other two threads, the Calendar Islands Yawl and making a mold topic.

Clint

[jim lee]

Brokensheer, you are very welcome.

Clint, I worry about your plan of using a existing hull as your plug. Mostly because we've not had a lot of luck pulling molds off of plugs. Mostly we're chipping chunks of plug out of the molds. Even with all the wax and all, the mold tends to shrink onto the plug locking it in there. Something to think about.

-jim lee

[Clinton B Chase]

Well I didn't think about that, Jim. Thanks. Makes sense.

I worry about the business end of things too with the start up costs of doing the plug. I guess that could be cheap if I could come up with the man hours and a couple commissions it may be doable.

Cheers