Got the 1/32" sub-deck installed. And it conformed to the compound-curves of the deck. The Wampum curves both fore-and-aft, and amidships. The isn't curved either way THAT much, but I was still needlessly concerned. It took two pieces of 24" plywood, and then one shorter 5" piece for the bow.  Next step is to mill and install the mahogany king plank down the center, and the mahogany sheer rails/gunwale strips. After that, then I'll start in on the deck planking, which will take forever... Aloha!

This weekend I was able to get several small, but necessary, steps done on the full build of the Sun Wind II RC sailboat. The three double-frames are all laminated, and the remaining frames are clear-coated with epoxy. The fin was entirely laminated, shaped and fiberglassed. The rudder was laminated but still needs to be shaped. The aft rudder tube keel assembly was laminated. The three aft pieces are held in perfect alignment by two alignment holes that you stick 1/8" stock through and epoxy in place. I'll later sand them flush. The idea is that the keel piece that is just forward of this assembly will align to the forward three alignment holes and leave a 5/32" gap for the future rudder tube to go through. It's upside down on the table so that the flat top edges can be used to help keep it in alignment while it cures. Next, I still need to finish the aft keel glue-up, as well as gluing frame 0 to the forward keel piece. But then ...

So it turns out that there is actually a very big difference between cutting the various types of 1/8" hobby plywood! I had no idea. I bought my plywood from National Balsa . They offer three types of 1/8" hobby plywood: 1. Lite ply, which is very light but not too strong. Apparently it is made from poplar. Very flexible. I haven't tried to cut it, but would imagine that it cuts easily. 2. Regular, 3-ply plywood which is called birch, but seems to clearly be not as refined as 6-ply. Much stronger than Lite ply, but a bit heavier too. Cuts really well! Less reflective, fewer layers which means less resin to melt. 3. 6-ply birch plywood. This is actual birch. Very reflective, strong and solid. Tough to cut! 6 ply's mean lots of resin to melt. They also offer both 1/16" and 1/32" birch ply.   -------------------------------------------------------------- So, the other day when I was laser cutting my frames, I was able to easily cut through the ...

I've begun the planking on my mock-up Sun Wind II. Last night I installed the outer sheer rails and let the epoxy cure. This morning I was able to fair the sheer rails and begin the planking. I'm using 1/8" x 3/8" clear cedar that I milled myself. The edges were beveled slightly on a sander, although I could have just used the table saw. Cedar is very nice to work with, and so far is conforming to the hull shape well. Will update as more planks are added. Only two so far. And I'm only doing one side. The other side will remain open so that people can view the internal structure. This is a mock-up and will be on display. The real RC boat will be built next after all the changes needed are discovered. Aloha!