MJ Sailingvideo

CATAMARAN BUILD - Routing Perfectly Matching Bulkhead Doors (MJ Sailing - Ep 184)

23 April 2021 · 22 min · 106K views · Kentmorr Marina

What this video covers

Matt and Jessica fabricate bulkhead doors for their 42-foot catamaran build by routing cutouts directly into foam-core fiberglass panels.1:31 To ensure precision, they secure the bulkhead panels to a stable surface and use a router to trace the door outlines.3:44 Because the router bit depth is limited to one inch, they perform multiple passes to fully penetrate the foam and fiberglass layers.7:00 For larger radius cuts, such as those for a support beam in the forward bunk, they use a string-and-pick compass set to a 250-millimeter radius.11:45 After cutting, they clean the edges with a grinder and sander.7:17 To maintain structural integrity, they plan to de-core the edges and reinforce the cutouts with unidirectional fiberglass, a process they refine by using plastic U-channels to guide the fiber placement.17:39 They address viewer feedback regarding the use of chopped strand mat, confirming that unidirectional fiber is necessary for the required rigidity in performance catamaran construction.16:41

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