Roger and Epoxy

Hi, All. Every time I read one of Roger's notes on the proper use of epoxies and other boat building materials, I start to squirm in my seat. I think about all the jobs I didn't do quite the right way, and wonder when things are going to come apart. Thanks, Rog Cheers Charlie

Hi, gang -- Today was our second day of building a 27-foot mast for a really hot dirt boat. We had excellent tooling by a fellow who built the Moore 24s. This was a two-part (clamshell-style) tool that we loaded with dry carbon fiber laminates, 1/8-inch Divinycel core and vacuum infused with epoxy. Great little project. We will grind the two halves as necessary and then bond them together with Plexus MA300 followed by a single carbon fiber wrap and a small flange on the trailing edge. Each piece was roughly 22 square feet of surface area. Very intricate vacuum bags and a really nice infusion. Loading and bagging took about four hours and then we took about an hour to infuse the parts. I took a lot of photos and will post these and a few others (after we demold and assemble) on the site for a couple of days. Out here we get to sail all year round. It's just that some of it is on dry lake beds. Now I am ready to start on the new mast for Swiss Cheese! I will build my own tooling and do it just like the dirt boat mast. It's really fun to try this stuff out on somebody else's dime. Hehehe. \Rog Cal 29+ #1 Swiss Navy Cal 2-30 #77 St. Lori's Comet