[alberg30] Re: wheel steering for A-30

> RABBIT649 at aol.com said:
> 
> 	Problem is they
> cut a rough, gaping hole in the cockpit sole and slapped a thin piece of
> aluminum over it, screwing it down with a raft of metal screws. I want to
> recut the hole, since I'm stuck with it, and put in a proper sealing deck-
> hatch but it's been hard to find one that is just slightly larger than the
> hole they cut and still fits between the rudder post and the wheel. I do think
> you should have an access hole for inspection and repair , although Dancing
> with Waves was done without a hole in the cockpit sole, I believe thru the
> sail lockers.

Have you done any fiberglass work before?  It's messy, but not 
terribly difficult.  The basic process is to taper the edges
(at least 8 to 1) and then lay in glass (cloth and mat) in layers,
making sure to fully saturate the glass with resin.  I'd recommend
sticking with polyester resin.  It's cheaper and more forgiving.

The cockpit sole is cored, so you need to seal the balsa where 
the hole was cut, anyway, or you'll have problems later.  Where
I'm doing recoring, I'm using plastic foam.

I'd recommend this as a general approach if you want to go this way:
 1. Grind around the hole to create a long taper.  Use a 4"
 grinder with 36grit paper.

 2. Lay a sheet of plastic on a piece of plywood and block it under
 the hole to give you a surface to work on.  The resin won't
 really adhere to the plastic.

 3. Laminate a layer of mat, one of glass cloth, and another of mat.
 The book, "This Old Boat" give a very good description of the 
 process.

 4. After that cures, sand the top with a grinder so the next layer
 will bond.  Cut a piece of foam core to fit.  Mix up some thickened
 resin and slather it on the new laminate.  Lay the foam core in it 
 and weight it down with a brick.

 5. After that cures, sand any new resin around the foam.  Then
 do another laminate of mat, cloth and mat on top.  If things aren't
 up to the level of the surrounding glass, you can add additional
 layers, probably of just mat.

 6. Sand smooth and fair the surface.  I recommend painting the
 fairing with PVA (Poly Vinyl Alcohol, aka mold release) to block the
 air and make it cure hard to the surface.

 7. When you're satisfied, then paint.

There's a bit more detail, of course, but it's not rocket science.

 - George

 

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  George Dinwiddie                                  gdinwiddie at min.net
  The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span those hours spent in
  sailing.          http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Alberg30/
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