June 01, 2004
Centerboard update
I spent the Memorial day weekend working on the centerboard and completed the fiberglassing. I sanded with 80 grit and faired it with a mix of West System 407 fairing filler and epoxy. I find that I tend to get tired of sanding, and as a result I often will give up instead of persevering, so I had Kathy take a look at the board and tell me where she thought it needed more work. That process took me until Sunday morning, when I put on a coat of primer. I sanded it on Monday morning, but the primer clogs the 180 grit sandpaper I used. I think that the high humidity we had was partially responsible, but I was able to get enough of it sanded down for my own conscience and applied the first layer of white paint. I placed the board inside the house last night and hopefully it will dry hard enough so that I can sand it this evening. I hope to get 3-4 coats of paint on the board.
As for building up the centerboard trunk opening, I laid up 6 layers of glass on a piece of wax paper, and found that it only built up to 1/32 of an inch. So I will need to try a different approach since building this up to 1/8 of an inch would add too much weight. I am considering building up the opening by using a thin layer of wood covered by a layer of glass.
I took a couple of photos of the board, so I'll post them here when I get the chance.
