Evo2 - Another Ellway 6 in build

[roland_trim]

First layer of carbon down. Uber thin plastic vac bag "gripped" to the waxed surface where the carbon was not.
We had a sealed sucking bag with that lovely note change and hardness associated with a good job after about 1m of parcel tape.

[Clive Everest]

Hi Roland,
It looks great already.
Could you not just rig the plug and go sailing?

Clive

[ade white]

hi there R - looking really amazing. Brill!   ..just thinking out the box.. had you thought of shaping in the kite hoop actually in the sam moulding, and even a Darth Vader (AKA Paul) support?

[roland_trim]

A good/bad weekend. Session 1 took next to no time and the first zero minute vac bag was sadly an omen of very bad things to come.

Yesterday
Whole inner layer of cabon is now down, but the wax/PVA release was a big mistake. With wax alone I could vac against bits of laminate with both Evo and EJ. Sadly the PVA/Wax combo releases so very easily that removing the peel ply pulls it off the plug. There is now way to get the bag down over any large area. So to bag the skin we had to encase the whole mould. Good news - mould is seriously stiff and strong and happlily took the extra pressure.

Today
After a day of bending foam and getting it all to sit down nicely, Tim U. and I 0went in for tea. Sadly the garage is now full of green smoke and smells of burnt electrics. Andrew's loaned mega pump is the culprit, left it smoking gently in the corner -will inspect tomorrow.
Mummied up the remains of Tim's work in with a roll of peel ply and will have to sort out the damage tomorrow PM. At least with a male mould I can chip off the bad bits and continue, this will add a few grams to the hull, a few hours to the project and a few pounds in the swear jar.

Still enjoying it though :-)

[roland_trim]

had you thought of shaping in the kite hoop actually in the sam moulding.

I'm big fan of metal hoops - so that will be glued in after.

even a Darth Vader (AKA Paul) support?

As the rack tubes are to be integral with the bulkheads there is not as much need for the helmet as a mounting plate. Evo has not suffered from pole/bag space and is narrower at that point than Evo2 will be, so the mast wil sit on the deck again. 

A good question though Ade, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the E7 comes together around DarthVader. Some new bits comming from a new builder will give us all more to think about/improve for future boats. For now though I've not seen enough yet to understand the E7's structure path.

[roland_trim]

So we tried to rescue the vac pump with some lash up technology. Wafer thin vac bags work a treat for carbon, but need a pump that draws more air to pull foam (this allow repairs to the inevitable of hissing holes). Yesterday I sorted a thicker plastic and vacced the foam into the deck using the asthmatic cricket Vac pump and tacki tape. 

Sadly today the lash up job failed my QA test. Too many indications of air voids under the foam. So with a scraper and mallet all of the curved foam is now off the boat. Tonight will sand it back and start again. About 3 days programme, £40 of materials and 200-500g of useless additional boat weight. Howeever, looking at the pictures attached you can see where the foam was not attached so was a good call - the extra work vs worry factor when bouncing downhill makes this worth it.

Frustrating, but still enjoyable. Can't wait to hoist and go on this one, jealous of Clive and Paul (whose boats are looking awesome).

[roland_trim]

Deck done and off mold. 

The nose looks alot better following a visit from Mr Croote.
We don't refer to him as a"mater craftsman" for nothing. In about 30 minutes he had made it look square and fixed why I keep making all the corners droopy.

[roland_trim]

Slow progress - I have a cold and it is cold in the garage.
Still the boat is off the plug. The plug is out of the garage.

[phil_kirk]

Good progress!

I assume that the outer layer of carbon has been left off the topsides to be added over the hull deck join.

[roland_trim]

I assume that the outer layer of carbon has been left off the topsides to be added over the hull deck join.

Spot on, it will also allow me to "tweak" the shape at the bow to ensure blend into the roll on the top deck is consistent. The foam was heat formed* and appears to be holding it's shape nicely. We will bond a lip the on the inside for joining, this will ensure a fit even if it tries to creep out a bit in the next few days and gives some limited fiber interaction on the inside skin.

*This sounds too technical. The foam was attacked with an electric paint stripper. When hot you can bend it approximately to shape. Too hot and it starts to burn.

[roland_trim]

Progress over the past few weeks has been slow, but we are starting to get there. Another session has seen "Picasso" Croote renamed "Michelangelo" Croote.

Note 1: care foam to shape square on plan and in elevation. Take hours doing this it really is key. The "wing" shape takes seconds to then carve from the foam by taking out the corners.

Note 2: The angle grinder with the sander head on is not to be used without care. For those keen to play with boats we recomend trying this tool on something that you don't mind gouging holes in before a carbon foam object that it will carve through with the tiniest slip (Mr C. did not mark the carbon).

[Torchy]

Looks more like Henry Moore to me 

http://www.henry-moore.org/hmf/shop/henry-moore-special-selection/celebrating-moore-softback

[roland_trim]

Spoiler on, racks on, tacker support on, shroud points in. It almost looks like a boat now.

Work has now moved to WSM for filling and fairing (Many many thanks to Paul Croote for the loan of the booth with an extraction wall).

[Hayley_Trim]

After a weekend of sanding...
Not much danger of running out of sandpaper now. We can just use my hands.

[Hayley_Trim]

Last night was your average kind of evening:

Roland constructs a swing for me to sit on underneath the up-turned boat while he pours hot soapy water over my head from the other side.

The joys of getting a fully tapered centreboard wedged in the slot with its plastic covering. Releasing it was a very slow process, but at least that meant I didn't unexpectedly land on my bum.