Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Second Float Assembled

Progress continues on my Scarab 650 with having completed the second float hull assembly.  I started by gluing up two 24' panels and laying out the remaining hull parts for the float.  I've now gone through 24 sheets of plywood!  That is a lot of wood!  As you can see in the following photo the hull panels are together on the strong back with all the joints epoxied and sanded.  The second float is now ready for seam taping and covering with fiberglass.
I've also noticed that with the weather getting considerably cooler, progress has slowed.  Although my garage is insulated and heated, I've not turned on the heat and I've noticed that epoxy takes much longer to fully cure.   It won't be long before the snow starts to fly and I'll be forced to turn the heat on.

The following photo shows the two float hulls and the main hull.  I thought my 3 car garage would be plenty of room for this project, but I was wrong and moving about is highly limited.  You will also notice two masts hanging from the ceiling over the left hand float.  The upper mast is off of Chickadee, my Hunter 216 and is being stored in the garage for winter.  The black mast below Chickadee's mast is a used Hobie 18 mast.  I found a really good deal on the mast in Minneapolis and I plan to use it for my Scarab 650 once I complete all modifications.  The biggest is the mast is 11" too short and I have some ideas on how to remedy that situation.  More to come on this subject in the future.


Lastly,  I wanted to report on how much time I've spent on this project to date.  I've keep a fairly detailed log on the build and last night I added up how many hours I've spent building my boat.  As of last night, I've put in 196.5 hours to get the project as you see in the above photo.  At first I was surprised about how much time I've spent so far considering what I have to show for my work, but when I thought about it, the time spent isn't that bad.  I spent a considerable amount of time making workbenches and the two strong backs, not to mention the time spent making the beam mold for the failed beam attempt.  I still find this project very fun and challenging and my motivation has not lessened one bit since I started.  In fact, as I progress in the project, I find myself becoming more motivated! 

Before I go, I want to thank everyone who has supported me and those of you who have sent me emails of encouragement.  I love sharing this project with you and I hope this blog convinces you that you should build a Scarab!

Until next time.....fair winds (hopefully without snowflakes)

1 comment:

  1. Nice progress, did you glass the insides of the float panels before assembly?

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