Big day today... I cut the Corbie 5 IOM hull off of the alignment jig! Phew... First I sanded the third coat of epoxy that I added yesterday. Then I used my waterline marking jig to mark the waterline. The waterline should be perfectly horizontal if you've used the frames properly. The manual indicates that it start 15mm aft of the back of the bumper, and run to 3mm forward of the stern. My tool holds a pen at an angle, and when it gets to flat areas like the stern it doesn't do as well as on more vertical surfaces. So I started at 15mm from the bow frame and ran it aft. It ended up about 14mm fwd of the stern, but that is due to my jig. I'll adjust slightly before I paint it on. In this first picture you can see how it doesn't work as well. Yes, the cap is on... I'm not actually marking it yet.  Here you can see where it works much better and more accurately. Then it was time to remove the hull! TA DA! This is after I cleaned up the insides. I did...

The clear Klass Kote two-part urethane was sanded and polished today. Looks pretty good! Bought myself a new tool... the Porter Cable 7424XP 6-Inch Variable-Speed Polisher ! It worked much better than my cordless drill that I had been using. Here are some more pictures: You can see a bit of the deck in this one. That's the next step... finishing the deck and hatches. Then it's time for the rigging. You can see the small brass rudder keeper that I made. Below is a section from my Vintage Marblehead Construction Manual on finishing: How to get that perfectly smooth, gloss finish : So how do those guys get that perfect, glossy finish? 1.        First, they sand the paint . Just about any gloss paint will create some orange peel. To get a glass-smooth finish you will need to sand it down a bit. Start with very gentle pressure using a sanding block with 800 grit and WET sand it. This should just flatten the orange peel at least enough ...

Well... that's it for the hull! I've been doing some varnish coats on the deck and hatches this week, and after six coats I've finally had enough. The hull is finished! Yay! For those not following along, this is a recreation of the 1949 Vintage Marblehead "Sun Wind" by Gus Lassel. It has been converted to radio control (RC) and modified to fit in the "High Flyer" division. The frames are laser-cut from 1/8" 3-ply plywood, the hull planks are dark Western Red Cedar, and the deck is Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Mahogany. The hatches, and many other parts, are 1/16" Baltic Birch plywood.  Here's how she looks... Next steps: 1. Work with my sail guy, Rod Carr , to configure the rig and sails. 2. Install all the standing and running rigging. 3. Go sailing! We're almost there. Additionally, I've been in contact with a company regarding producing the laser-cut frames for the Sun Wind II. ...

HUGE step today... I cut the Sun Wind II from the strongback... she's free! And she only weighs 3 lbs. 3 oz. (1446 grams). Not too bad, if I do say so myself. And that includes the fin. So far, I am extremely happy with how she turned out. Now to start to clean up the inside. Will need to grind down a few more drips, sand a few rough spots, and then epoxy coat the keel and any place else that needs it on the inside. Phew! Aloha!