Sheathing the Hull

You thought we forgot about the boat, didn't you?  But, after long (apparent) hiatus, progress is once again being made, in the form of sheathing the hull in fiberglass cloth.  Sometimes it seems like this is less a wooden boat and more an epoxy boat with some wood to hold the epoxy in place.

Some weekends over the past months were spent sanding, building and then installing a box for the centerboard (like a giant hole in the hull... I know), then epoxying the entire surface...

Above is the view from "down under" the centerboard box installed - where the centerboard can come up into the boat.

Of course, then you look at the outside of the boat and it just looks like a big hole in the hull.  Dad suggests that this "putting holes in our beautiful boat" might be a theme.  

And here's how the sheathing works:  we cut pieces of thin, deceptively strong cloth (known as "Dynel") and arranged them over the hull, then proceeded to drench them in epoxy and spend the next hour trying to smooth out all the wrinkles and get out all the air bubbles.  It can be tough, as the cloth doesn't follow the boat's curves without naturally folding and forming air bubbles.

It looks nicer in the end, doesn't it?  All shiny and smooth!