Foam Core - Deck, Cabin, Bulkheads

[SeaJay]

Matt,

Good tip. How long can you leave the peel-ply on before removing? I'm thinking about prefabing all of the bulkheads in the shop and then tabbing them in later. It seems this would be a good way to keep the tabbing surfaces clean.

Doug

[SeaJay]

Bentwood,

I understand about the bevel. I plan to use a trapazoidal foam spacer between the bulkhead and hull and thought that a little epoxy putty would fill the gap caused by the hull variance, but I suppose touching the edge with a sander could get pretty close to the proper shape and be less work than fooling around with a fillet.

Thanks,

Doug

[Bentwood]

SeaJay: The trapazoidal foam spacer should decrease the amount of epoxy filleting compound you need to get the fiberglass tape to lay smoothly along the hull-bulkhead joint. I try to bevel the edges of the bulkheads to get close fit, so that I can use less epoxy filler to bridge the gaps. I have not been using the spacers, just filleting with epoxy and overlaying with 3 layers of fiberglass tape.
Good luck,

[marshmat]

Good tip. How long can you leave the peel-ply on before removing? I'm thinking about prefabing all of the bulkheads in the shop and then tabbing them in later. It seems this would be a good way to keep the tabbing surfaces clean.

It stays on until ten minutes before you're ready to make the secondary bond. I've had it peel off perfectly and leave a clean, nicely textured surface on three-year-old carbon.
Laminating bulkheads in the shop is a good idea, if you have the space. You'll need a large, flat and smooth table to layup on (some good rigid framing or a flat concrete floor, supporting low-grade plywood topped with smooth-finish Masonite, some shellac or varnish, and a few coats of wax should do nicely). You'll get flatter parts and more consistent laminates than you'd get if you did the entire lamination right in the hull, and will probably waste less resin.