Gluing of the cart wall
It's time for Matt to put the aft bulkhead of the new Duracell roof in place. This one, already partially prepared in the shop, will house the mainsail traveler. He prepares the rest of the existing bulkhead, sanding away the existing gel coat, then, after laser shimming, glues the bulkhead in place with filled epoxy. To do this, he puts it in a sort of piping bag, made from a freezer bag, with one corner cut off.
Many glass fabrics
Because the bulkhead must withstand significant forces, the lamination includes a large number of unidirectional and biaxial fabrics. In the second episode of the day, Matt explains his strategy for covering the fabrics. He performs the operation in 4 successive vacuum laminations. After a difficult first operation performed alone, he noticed some air bubbles, due to the slow and complex placement of the vacuum bag. For the second layering, he called on his family to speed up the process.
A cockpit still to be optimized
In addition to the bulkhead, Matt looked at the cockpit again, to optimize the design and ergonomics of the winches. He finally decided to integrate the aft winch, close to the helmsman, into a recess to facilitate control of the sail from the helm station.
