Building a 16 Foot Trimaran: Back to Work

I've been slacking on posting lately even though I've been working on the boat. Finally finished sanding the hull exterior. Also finished sanding the daggerboard, then moved on to what you see below.

Finished shaping the rudder and glassed it. Had to do a poor man's vacuum bag job on the bottom when laying the glass around the curvy bottom edge. That means applying the epoxy and glass, then wrapping with Saran Wrap and shoving the end down into a box of moist sand. It does a pretty darn good job of keeping the air out of the glass layup, but doesn't get rid of excess resin like real vacuum bagging does. Seems like a nice shape though.

I drilled bigger than needed holes for the the pivot bolt and holes where the shock cord will be routed through for keeping the rudder down. Filled the extra large holes with resin, and will drill the right sized (smaller) holes through the resin. That way no wood will be exposed and the pivot bolt will have a good durable surface to pivot against.

Starting to cut panels for the top of the hull now. Here's the one for the bow. I have 3 "bow eyes" on order. They're basically U-bolts. One for the bow to catch the base of the jib. Two for the water stays that'll brace the ladder aka.

Here's the framework that goes below the mast. It's nice and strong. One inch thick cedar epoxied to bulkheads reinforced with multiple layers of glass. Multiple layers of plywood will go on top of that. On another note, I bought a new/used mast from Igor, a nice guy who owns a Tremolino. The mast is made by Proctor from England. It's made for a Flying Dutchman, is aluminum and has a tapered top. Super lightweight too. Turns out the Hobie 14 mast I'd planned to use was cracked at the bottom. It was too short too, so the new mast is a good thing.

A view of the cockpit with the cedar rails epoxied in to support the plywood floor, which is about 15" from the top surface of the hull and about 14" from the bottom.

A close up of the rails from underneath. They're beveled and reinforced with fiberglass.

A prototype of the daggerboard slot, made with luan plywood and two ripped pieces of cedar.

Here's where the daggerboard slot will go.

Here are the actual pieces of luan that'll make up the slot sides, laminated with epoxy and fiberglass.

Time to finish the centerboard. I decided it'll be approximately five feet long. When fully inserted, there'll be about 3'-9" of board protruding from the bottom of the hull. That ought to do it. Now time to make the handle and the stop that'll keep it from sliding down into the slot.