I have to admit, my fiberglass work is getting better, at least better than last year. 2 weekends and 5 nights have brought along a lot of progress in getting Big Red ready for this years EC. In the past when loaded with 2 adults and all the gear needed, the cockpit sat lower than the waterline. We always had water in the cockpit. So we raised the cockpit floor around 4″ with a drain straight down through the hull. It will change they way we sit, might add hiking straps to help balance. The forward “cockpit” took a lot of water into it last year. Pounding into 6 waves did not work well. We added a waterproof hatch and glassed a bulkhead to make the entire front 8′ of the boat, a waterproof, dry storage area. Hatch is still big enough to allow dry bags and paddles to be stored up forward.
Under the hull liner was a open area that filled with water last year with the leaks from the centerboard. We believe we had 40 gallons+ ( 320 pounds) when we put the boat under water last year. This year we used a two part closed cell foam. Two quarts equal 1 cubic foot of foam with 60 lbs of floatation. Fun to mix, equal parts, 10 seconds with a drill and with in 30 seconds its growing! We added 4 cubic ft of foam to the tune of almost 240 lbs of floatation. That not only makes the boat safer but keeps it de-watered below decks.
Next we went over the amas to find the leaks. Hooking up the air compressor to the drains and rubbing soap over every possible leak we were able to track down 2 leaks and repair them. Lastly, we picked up the Jib and main sails from Dennis @ Banks Sails in Tampa. The jib is now on roller furling and the main sail has its second set of reef-points. It also cleans up the lines leading to the cockpit as we no longer need the jib down haul or the jib halyard. Only thing left is to add a fair-lead for the furling jib.
This Sat. we go out for test with my crew/son-in-law, Ted Eversoll aka “danceswithmullet.” More to come next week!