by Peter McMinn » Tue Mar 04, 2003 5:33 pm
Job complete, or nearly.
First, I used an hydrolic jack to push the roof into proper form, and keep it there throughout the repair.
Instead of using PVC, I bandsawed the beam out of 2X6 cedar, as this material lends itelf well to custom shaping. With a beltsander, I rounded the low side to a 5/8" radius and sealed it all with epoxy resin. Then, using props, I epoxied the arched, 2" beam to the sanded surface--about 8 inches forward of the cuddy crown. I then used a heavy mixture of resin and microballoons (silica, even fine sawdust, will work) to build up fillets along the inside corner where the beam meets the ceiling.
After this set up, I sanded everything to conformity and glassed up two layers of cloth, overlapped at the crown, making four layers over about 1'.5" in the middle. I got my brother to help me handle the wet cloth strips which were about three feet in length. Squeegeed the bubbles and wrinkels, let it harden.
Next, I plan to add vertical FG support port & starboard with a couple of layers conforming to the end of the beam.
Many latex gloves later, the improvement to the cuddy roof is remarkable--it's very strong now, with the added support not weighing more than a few pounds. I think the stiffer topsides might add to a stiffer rig, too. At any rate, the roof should be good for another 40 years of spinnaker sets.