Rounding the Mast

Rounding the Mast

I fabricated a marking tool to mark guidelines on the square mast. Then the electric hand plane was used to remove unwanted material. It is a great tool and worth the investment, especially if you are as lazy as I am. 

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5/16" holes prove to be to large for pencils, so I used 1/4" holes and twisted the pencils through forcefully. I just used threaded bolts on the outside, and kept my thumbs on top of them as I was marking.

Then the electric plane was used to change 4 sides into 8, then 8 into 16.

I then sanded by turning a sanding belt inside out and using my own power to sand. It worked very well.

Next Step

Do some final filling and sanding on the mast. Then apply spar varnish.
 

Building the Mast

Assembling the Mast 

The mast was built by gluing up 2X4 lumber trimmed to 3" square with thickened epoxy and scarfing to make the 18' length required. The top 10 ft were tapered to 2" at the top by using an electric hand plane.

Gluing up the mast

Tapering the mast

Next step

Use the electric hand plane to round the mast

Bottom Panels

 Cutting the Bottom Panels

The bottom panels were cut out of 3/8" plywood stacked so both panels could be cut simultaneously. That will make the bottom 3/4" thick. 

Next Steps:

That completes the hull panels and the bulkheads. I have to wait for warmer weather in the Spring to assemble the hull. In the meantime I can build the mast, rudder, and bilge board. I have used all the 3/8" plywood - a total of 11 sheets, and 4 of the 1/4" sheets. All that is remaining is a sheet of 1/2" and a sheet of 1/4". 

Bilge Panels

Cutting the Bilge Panels

After cutting out the bilge panels the only part of the hull remaining to be cut out is the bottom which consists of two layers of 3/8 inch plywood.

 Bilge Panels

Bulkheads and panels stored in limited space available awaiting assembly.

Next Step:

Apply epoxy to the bilge panels. Then mark and cut out the bottom panels.