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Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Tue Sep 05, 2017 8:00 pm
by Lil Maggie
Final report on the cuddy repair:
All I can say is WOW...what a difference a stiff cuddy makes...I would recommend the laminated beam to anyone with the same issues I had. I think I could even dispense with the cuddy jack post except it holds my compass and other ehem....navigational aids (GPS)...plopped myself over that cuddy several times while rigging, on the dock and even under way and not a twitch!...solid!
Now I'm done patting myself in the back

Mike

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:17 am
by GreenLake
Congratulations!

As you write, there's no need for a post at the front of the cuddy, other than to serve as a replacement for a bulkhead's other functions: compass holder, etc. If you need one for strength, you have other issues.

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:35 pm
by Lil Maggie
GreenLake wrote:Congratulations!

As you write, there's no need for a post at the front of the cuddy, other than to serve as a replacement for a bulkhead's other functions: compass holder, etc. If you need one for strength, you have other issues.


I found the post superlative when I tested the beam right after finishing it. I had removed one of the thru-bolts that attaches the post to the keelson and swung it out of the way to facilitate glassing, etc...I put the post as a temporary measure; now its job is to just hold up the compass and GPS!

M

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 6:14 pm
by GreenLake
superlative?

I think you mean redundant. (As in, superfluous... :) )

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 7:53 pm
by Lil Maggie
darn autocorrect....superfluous it is
M

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 2:02 am
by GreenLake
Gets you every time :)

I tend to enjoy the weird suggestions that pop up for proper nautical terms...

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 5:27 pm
by Lil Maggie
oh no...after last night's embarrassment I put a bullet on the robot's head....hard to type on those silly "smart" phones anyway; after that flop it made me look anything but smart. One comment/worry about my beam is the width of f/g tape I used for it (6"), only left about 1-1/2" in contact with the cuddy ceiling...so am considering laying a wider layer (8") over the two layers I already have. The fiberglass cloth was not laid in one continuous piece from port to starboard; it breaks around the block I glued to support the "jack" (provisional repair), plus I used ~6"x6" squares on the ends of the beam. Probably worrying about nothing, but these are the things one does to sleep better at night.

M

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:39 pm
by GreenLake
I would say there's little benefit in doubling up the tape along the "crown" of the beam, but there may be some benefits to looking at the connection beam to deck. F/G does not do well on tight curves, so if you didn't fillet that transition, you might do that now to a gentle(r) curve and tape over it again, overlapping the deck more widely, to perhaps 2" (that should be enough).

Or you can leave it alone and watch for any signs of stress first.

However, ---- I assume you also glued the beam to the deck, so I think that bond doesn't rely as much on the tape as you might think...

Sleep soundly.

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:19 pm
by Lil Maggie
Oh yes, that beam was glued and clamped to the underside of the cuddy; I took 60 grit sandpaper block to the area to be glued...but you're right, it might be alright
M

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 12:53 am
by GreenLake
Should look up the pounds per square inch for epoxy and multiply by the surface area of that glue joint. Can you support the boat weight on it? (rhetorical question, I know :)

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:15 am
by Lil Maggie
Well...must have done something right....came first in (dinghy) class and second overall on last race of the season...thirty seconds behind the lead boat (a laser), whom not 5 minutes before I was slightly ahead of (we crossed with him downwind of me)...the boat's behavior in the wind (10 kts steady with puffs to 15 kts....just below whitecaps forming).

The boat is stiffer...I did hear a few quiet creaks like the sound rice crispies make...but only a few, and afterwards I didn't notice any cracks forming, but again I didn't look that hard...too excited to cross that finish line a point free and doing 5.5 kts...with my seven-year-old as crew...

I just went outside and gave it a good look....no cracks!

Mike

Re: Ideas on repairing Cuddy crown

PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 10:02 pm
by GreenLake
Congrats on a job well done (and a race well sailed!)