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If you want to be informed about any updates, please send a private message via the guestbook.
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Latest update 20 feb 2012 When I came back from a trip through sunny South America it was a bit of a shock to see -17ºC ( 1ºF) indicated in my car. Luckily the shed was still just above zero.... By building a tent around the laminating table and using 2 electric heaters I was able to create a workable temperature of 18ºC. This allowed me to continue work on the boat. While the tent was heating up, I kept myself warm by sanding the floats.  Before I could make any parts for the beams, I first had to laminate some panels, like a solid glass panel from which the CNC-router made several parts. I chose to cut the foam parts by hand with the template that I had cut for the beam mould. The parts can be spaced closer together this way. For the beams I had chosen to use PVC foam i.s.o. Corecell. I'm glad I didn't do that for the hulls as it's a lot more brittle. This is not so important for the beams, as the foam will be surrounded by a lot of carbon cloth. It's easier to cut though. As I want to vacuum bag the beams as well, I routered rebates in the edges of the HD inserts so the seams can be bogged close. This takes a bit of extra work and by the time I was ready to lay the foam into the mould, time was up! The interior plan of the F-85SR is different from the F-82R as the cockpit floor and bunk height have changed. Settees are not included. F-82 settees can be used but it is no longer possible to extend them under the cockpit seats. With some fiddling I was able to think up a new interior using cushens of different height and a pull-out kitchen. I have adapted the drawings on the F-85SR page.
31 jan 2012 When I'm enroute for my job I always try to prepare the tasks for my next period off. Sometimes I also make a workorder. This way, when I'm at work on the boat I don't have to spend time working things out. Last week I made the beam mould, beamtop mould, beam stand, beam template and CMM mould. Work on the floats was limited to some sanding. The temperature in the shed slowly follows the outside temperature... It should stay above freezing though. Ian Farrier finished the lines for the main hull and the sailplan. Luckily the chainplates do not need to be moved. I'll have to change my ideas for the interior though.
13 jan 2012 The temperature in the shed dropped to about 8 ºC. My epoxy needs a mimimum of 15ºC for application. Still I was able to work without problems though, as two 60W lightbulbs keep the epoxy at about 20ºC in the heater box and an electric heater keeps the inside of the floats at an acceptable temperature. Smaller jobs on the outside kan also be kept warm by building a temporary tent, but that is not as easy. Except for the chainplates all internal work on the floats is now ready. Also the cutouts for the deck hatches are finished. I can't place the chainplates yet, as Ian is still finalizing the sailplan, and they may have to be placed further aft then initially intended. Except for some sanding and a few small jobs, work on the floats will now rest until temperatures go up again. I don't want to heat the whole shed each time I need to epoxy something on the outside of the floats. The beams are not so big and I can build a tent around it which is easily kept warm. So, I have now started to cut the moulds for the beams and the Central Mounting Modules ( CMM ). The ash wood blocks for the beam pads are now ready to be glassed.
22 dec 2011 All glue joins on the inside have now been taped. With the float suspended inverted from the tackle, taping the deck was a piece of cake. Access was really good. In the mean time I've also started preparations for building the beams. Most parts for the folding system were cut with a waterjet cutter. I still have to finish them though and I will have to make hull brackets myself. The design for the upper strut is derived from the F-82R struts ( and approved by Ian Farrier ) as the F-85SR design can't be waterjet cut. Because of large amounts of spam I had to close my email address. It has now been replaced with a guestbook. I wish everybody a merry Christmas; For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder .... Isaia 9:6
8 December 2011 It's hard to believe that a year ago I stood in an almost empty shed. So much has happened and I learned a lot. The last couple of days I was able to do quite a few things, there is not much to show for however. I have about 1/3 of the list behind me of things to do before the outside can be glassed. The starboard bulkheads have now been taped. In a few places I had to do this by feel as those spots could not easily be reached and this cost a bit of sweat. But it turned out all right. The tackles are ideal and allow me to easily handle the floats alone.
19 November 2011 If anyone still wants to know why I'm building a trimaran and not a 'normal' boat, it's the ease and comfort with which the boat sails at high speeds. -> please notice the subtle wave ( 1:05) After gluing the hulls together I have now entered the next stage. Before I can glass the outside of the hulls a great number of smaller jobs have to be completed. It started this week with cutting holes to gain access to the inside of the hull to tape the glue joints. On the starboard hull I used a bit too much glue when joining. A chisel on a broomstick works wonders to remove the glue ridges.To reach all those hard to reach places its handy anyway to make several tools to work with 'remote control'. With only a few holes access is limited. The last few days I taped the keel and that went very well.
3 November 2011 After I laminated the foilcase in place, I glued together the last 2 floathalves to create the port float. Of course this also meant first fitting the venting system. That all went smoothly. The mould has been taken apart which gives me a bit more room again. Also I installed 2 tackles so that it will be easier to move and rotate the floats. It might look as if the floats are almost ready now, but looks deceive. There still is a lot of work to do, most of it inside the cramped floats..... The form frames are still good enough to be used for another F-85SR and are for sale.
14 October 2011 After the previous update I had a holiday, so the build continued. Of course it started with a setback.The foam box that I used for heating the corecell failed immediately, again. This meant I first had to make a proper corecell toaster. The set up was a rough copy from fellow F-85SR builder Phill Brander. I used a radiator fan from a car dump for ventilation. The achievable temperature was a bit of a disappointment, about 70 - 80 ºC, while 100ºC is ideal. This is probably caused by the high airflow. I did not fancy more delay, so I used the setup and it proved succesfull. With the help of my heatgun bending the foam went very well and this float half is the best of all 4. I should have done this before Laminating under vacuum was as uneventful as last time with a pressure of 0.88 bar/ 26"HG this time.
With the hull I also laminated the carbon chainplates ( 2nd try ). This time not under vacuum, but clamped between to plates. A few taps with a rubber hammer helped pulling the carbon tight. When I mounted the first foil case the hull could be taken out of the mold, as it the bulkheads gave it stiffness. This time this was not possible. However frame 6 and a few battens would still be in the way. Not to be unpleasantly surprised I had planned ahead and made a work order which required this float half to be made last last. It all went according to plan and the case can now be glued into position.
27 sept 2011 After ( again ) delay I was able to start work on the boat again. When a float half is lifted out of the mould the shape alters slightly. To align both halves properly I screwed a few battens along the contour of the float. With light pressure the float half is positioned and then glued together and pulled tight with straps. Quite simple actually. When glued together the stiffness is greatly increased. All screw holes have now been bogged and HD inserts placed, so I can continue now with float half #4.
8 sept 2011 It was my intention to glue float halves #2 en #3 together this week. However, a few other things interfered which didn't leave enough time to accomplish this. On the photo you can see the venting system for the watertight compartments. To avoid having to glue the hose into the bulkhead I glued a plastic fitting in place. This is a lot easier to do before the hulls are glued together.
02 sept 2011 A short update. Today I laminated float half #3. Suspense was in the air when I activated the vacuum pumps. After a first check of leakages I immediately had a good result. I the end I got a vacuum of more than 0,8 bar, with one pump operating and the other on hot standby via the pressure switch. Perseverance pays off! No pictures as my wife had the camera with her. 21 july 2011 This week I made the float supports for when the float halves are glued together ( of better, my router made them, I only assembled them
) . Float half and stringer #3 are ready for glass and epoxy. This will
have to wait a while, as the next 6 weeks will be spend on work and a
family holiday.
16 july 2011 It's a strange sensation to pick up a float half by the daggerboard case on your own and walk the 8 meter long hull across the shed. Although only the inside has been laminated the hull is light yet strong and stiff. Many people ask me when the boat will be ready. Well, I don't know. Theoretically it should take about 2000 hours to build. However, as I am a first time builder, some things will take more time. It was my planning to spend about 400 hours per year on this project. The first half of this year I was able to work for 200 hours, so I am on schedule in that respect. Last week I turned the float frames and started to build float half #3. To make it easier to bend the foam I improved the insulation of the heat box. This increased the temperature to 70 - 80ºC. Higher was not possible as the foam of the box started to deform..... The ideal temperature for Corecell M seems to be about 100ºC. Now I still needed the heatgun in some tight corners. The foam held its shape a lot better though, which is a good thing as my new screws do not hold as good as the old ones. They only go into the foam by about 7 mm. Not having to grind any screws down and bogging them is a great improvement though. As this page got a bit large, I moved the history of the first 7 month into 'Part 1'. In my links page I added a few links to other farrier builders that started early this year.
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