John Z's Mistral; May Update

John is working away on his new boat.  There's no rush as he has the old boat as a back up.  His target completion date is to have the new boat ready in time for the Brigantine regatta (14th of June) but that might not happen.  Let's see how he's getting on since our last update.

This photo shows the installation of the side walls of the cockpit buoyancy tanks.  John has opted for slab sided tanks rather than the"rolled" side tanks popularized by Joe Bousquet.  John indicated that a 3mm sheet would take the bend he wanted between the aft cockpit bulkhead and the main forward bulkhead but a 6mm thick panel would not.  Hence the extra clamps and bits of temporary timber bracing while the resin kicked off between the two layers of the tank wall.

John also added ply doublers to the cockpit sole, effectively increasing the thickness from 3mm to 6mm in the "stomping" area of the hull.  Vacuum bagging ensures that there are no resin voids and/or excess resin between the two layers.  John used butyl tape to seal the bag edges against the previously epoxy-coated surface of the hull.

Shaving down the inwhales to the correct angle for the deck.

Adding wood strips to the top faces of the bulkheads and gussets.  These will provide attachment surfaces for the decking.

John coated the inside of the boat with epoxy.  This not only helps preserve the wood but also increases the stiffness of the bendy 3mm ply and thus helps prevent the hull from "oil canning" as it knifes through chop.

I don't know how John keeps his work area so tidy!

One of several gussets which John has added after receiving some input from fellow builder Joe Bousquet.  This one ties the transom to the stern deck brace.