Ballast Tank Bulkheads

Before I get on to the ballast tanks here is a photo of the box that supports the mizzen mast. It is now glued in place but still has to have epoxy fillets run around the joints. The box is sealed at the bottom and any water that gets into it drains out through a hole in the transom.

I seem to be making very slow progress on the ballast tank bulkheads. There are two short ones at either end of the centreboard case and two taller ones that support the cross thwart. All four bulkheads have stringers glued to them to support the tops of the ballast tank compartments. When the bulkheads are in place the stringers have to be level so the top of the tank is flat. I decided to fit the stringers to the bulkheads on the bench because this is much easier and cleaner that glueing them to the bulkheads in the boat. The measuring and marking the position of the stringers has to be done in the boat and is awkward to do.

Here is a photo showing the two short bulkheads, one glued in place the other waining for the glue to set. The tops of these two bulkheads have to be level across the boat and also fore and aft. The stringers on the two intermediate bulkheads also have to be at the same level and so they can only be positioned when the first two are in place.

 

Here is the template for the big bulkhead that forms the forward buoyance and storage compartment. The template is made from the building mould with short pieces of scrap ply hot melt glued to it to get the exact shape. I cut the centre out of the mould to lighten it.