MJ Sailingvideo
CATAMARAN BUILD - Amateur Hour With Unidirectional Fiberglass (MJ Sailing - Ep 183)
16 April 2021 · 20 min · 123K views
What this video covers
Building a 42-foot catamaran requires installing interior bulkheads and reinforcing door cutouts with unidirectional fiberglass. To maintain structural integrity after cutting door openings into foam-cored bulkheads, the builders route a six-millimeter trough around the perimeter using a rabbeting bit.6:27 They then saturate strips of unidirectional fiberglass with resin, roll them into ropes, and bond them into the troughs to restore rigidity.6:37 During the initial attempt, the builders struggled to keep the wet fiberglass rope in place within the vertical troughs, eventually using clear packing tape as a temporary solution.12:05 They later identified that using flexible plastic strips as a cofferdam or mold would provide better control for future installations.13:19 To ensure consistency across multiple bulkheads, the builders created an MDF template to guide a router for cutting identical door openings.15:23 The project utilizes vinyl ester resin to maintain compatibility with the boat's original construction materials.18:44
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