3D Printed Plastic Foil Hinge and Flap

Over 11 hours of fatigue testing and still no sign of cracking.

Price is not obscene.

Ability to do a decent fairing at the intersection.

Simpler construction of mainfoil.

Most of the stiffness implications are sorted.

This might be a goer.

E Glass Panels

Some people have asked me recently regarding doing fibreglass panels rather than carbon. Personally I wouldn't but if there is a real cost saving the following might have be a bit of a guide.

As designed:

200 GSM Double Bias Carbon Skins

5mm 80kg/m3 PVC Core

Weight:     1.067kg/m2

Stiffeness: 31 kN.mm2

Strength:    41.53 N.mm/mm

E Glass Option 1:

300 GSM Double Bias E Glass Skins

5mm 80kg/m3 PVC Core

Weight:     1.4 kg/m2

Stiffeness:  25 kN.mm2

Strength:    54.17 N.mm/mm

E Glass Option 2:

200 GSM Double Bias E Glass

7mm 80kg/m3 PVC Core

Weight:     1.23 kg/m2

Stiffeness   31 kN.mm2

Strength:    50.32 N.mm/mm

Final Notes

1. These laminates and comments are equally applicable to the scow and foiler. 

2. For option 2, some adjustments should be made to construction jig for the extra 2mm of core

3. Brian built his Scow with 60kg/m3 core rather than 80kg/m3. I think 60kg/m3 is a bit light and dents easily but it does save some weight (0.97kg/m2). 

3D Printed Dial

This is a 3D printed dial. It is a revision of Markla's which he's put a couple different sizes of onto his control mechanism of death. Seriously, I haven't sailed his boat since it was installed purely because it will cause significant bleeding if you hit it.

The dial though is great, can't believe how much better the control is over the boat with a working dial. The actual part was easy to model (rhino), cheap to print (shapeways) and fit perfectly over the existing turnbuckle that was previously only used on land or when stopped on the water.

Finished

Well it has survived its first test, a nice 10 knot race Sunday arvo up against some other moths and 16s.

 

Maybe over winter it will get a proper coat of paint, but there are other jobs that need to be done first.

Meanwhile, Markla is being a pussy and not sailing in thunderstorms, even though his boat is operational. So soft...

 

I've made a huge mistake.

With a busted vang bolt that is impossible to replace, it is time to do some mods that have been put-off for a long time. The perfect christmas project...sigh.

The original vang base was too far aft to achieve a decent amount of rake without having issues being able to ease the sail. It is being converted to a strop around the king post to alleviate the issue. To install the strop access beneath the foredeck is required which is where things get exciting and frustrating.

Lots of cutting and grinding of big bloody holes around probably the most complexly loaded part of the hull. Deciding how to seal up the holes is daunting and I'm still not sure how to do it. Hopefully it comes out looking like the picture in my head.