SAILBOAT REFIT: Glassing in Traveler Bulkhead [E49]

[@irisgilliard4955]

I love it seeing my son, Malone, wife Judy, Grandson Matt and Janni all working together on his boat project.

[@TheDuracellProject]

We love that you watch Mimi and can’t wait to see you soon!

[@Brian-os9qj]

Any joke cooked up whilst immersed in a great project, involving a beloved family, is a great ‘dad-joke’. Well done dad/mom & all.

[@Tomm9y]

Absolutely, wish I had more memories of family/dad assistance in projects. I hope it will be immensely satisying for them too.

[@judys45]

@@Tomm9y It’s beyond immensely satisfying! I love hanging out with Matt … with or without a project. Judy (Matt’s mom)

[@dancarter482]

The Itchy and Scratchy SHOW! GOT to admire you resin-rocketeers but that's why aluminium and titanium and a tig welder works for me .... .

[@aaronagood]

idk anything about boats or sailing whatsoever. Just watching this project come along is just as interesting as all the car modding videos i watch. The algorithm strikes again.

[@donnakawana]

I really love seeing other perfectionist at work... We tend to see things as never perfect where others see amazing. Your both brilliant from videography to just the build . Your parents are amazing humans who made amazing humans ... Thanks for sharing your lives with us grateful ✌🏼💗😊❣️

[@TheDuracellProject]

Thanks so much 😊

[@erictakakjian6021]

Amazing job on that bulkhead! Your parents are way cool, must be boat people as well

[@theconfessionsof_a]

Lovely work, much love from the senior confessor, England

[@christopherbrand5360]

Drill and fill those voids instead of grinding! Inject epoxy with a syringe. Drill two small holes. One for epoxy to go in and one for air to come out. Both at the top of the void as close to level with each other as possible. What you are doing is hard and what you are making is good :)

[@christopherbrand5360]

It won’t bond the glass to the underlying substrate unless the layup is still slightly green, but it will support the glass and keep it in column. The strength of the part is from long glass strands in tension. The void allows stress to concentrate at the edges and filling it will alleviate that some, if not entirely. But for small voids it should be stronger to fill them than to cut those long strands of glass by grinding.

[@TheDuracellProject]

I am going to do some more research on this. Thx

[@berinslaptop]

@@christopherbrand5360 Wont bond.... That depends on a number of factors. Mainly if the epoxy he's using blushes or not. But yes I do agree more often then not the inside of the bubble is mostly mirror finish smooth. And well not the best boding surface. I built Hinckleys for many years, and voids where always filled by injection on a case by case, if and when the rare event happend during production.

[@pmnfernando]

treat it as if one's patching up a thru hull opening: remove the void, feather the surface, then spot glass to the same level, any bumps will be disguised by fairing anyway. with the amount of glass being applied that thing aint going anywhere.

[@brianweller7114]

Looking good. I got the designer from New Zealand to draw up a lift keel with twin rudders this gave us areas where we could go as with keel up and twin rudders we only drew 4foot 6inched. Keep going your bringing up great memories . Brian

[@WHIKID1]

Don’t beat yourself up mate. You still do amazing work.

[@lllBAMlll]

I lost it out loud when your dad said "Familation" 😂

[@gl2856]

Wow what a tricky job, nice to see you get mom and dad involved , awesome family.

[@MaShcode]

Fill the voids to protect against defamilation. ❤

[@berinslaptop]

I'm sure its been done already, BUT rather then grind out small bubbles. You can drill a small hole at each end. use resin with milled fiber or chop scrand. and inject. OR use the vacuum to draw resin in filling the void. grinding not needed (size depending, or type of air pocket). Too bad I dont live in that area, I do infusions. Or I should say in and out of mold fiberglass infusions on luxury/super yachts. With the right slow cure epoxy resin I've done upto 17 layers before one shot. 36 OZ on a transom to prep for a lifting swim platform.

[@TheDuracellProject]

i'm going to research this a bit more!

[@JohnnyBeGood123]

You deserve a lot more views, gotta respect all the work going into te boat!

[@m1ste2tea]

Watching this late night, very relaxing video with the method and the music, I hope your layering process was at least half as enjoyable.

[@svenhinrichsen458]

Man, you are totally crazy. I wish you all the best for it!

[@paraweir]

Matt, you are an excellent boat fixer-upper. A few bubbles doesn't change that mate. One only gets better with a few bubbles!!! Love your channel and your dedication.

[@dwel2928]

Gee Matt, that traveler mount is probably 5 times as strong as it has to be, but with those little voids, maybe only 4.99 times as strong. Not sure you have to worry about them. But you'll fix them anyway. Great design and execution!

[@robm.4512]

Nice job and I’m grateful it’s not my set of construction snags to resolve, I’ve got plenty of my own to be getting along with. 😁 Vis-a-vis the voids under the uni, I personally prefer not to grind out in that situation because it rather defeats the objective of using uni in the first place. Breach the strand = big loss of strength down the load path. As per others here, in those specific areas I’d prefer to drill and inject. Elsewhere, in the biax/chop only areas, sure, grind out, taper and repair. But hey, she’s your boat, your project and your vision, not mine or anyone else’s. I’m just stoked to be able to share the journey vicariously and enjoy sharing a little in your achievement without lifting a finger myself. What a gift and I’m very grateful to you guys for it. Duracell was one of my favourites in her heyday, what an absolute weapon she was, a real testament to the vision and skills of her builder, you’re doing her proud. Cheers, R. 😎👍🍻🇬🇧

[@TheDuracellProject]

thanks for the comments, Rob!

[@bradtoschlog1776]

Those little voids won’t have any affect of the strength of the piece. Grinding them out will break the strand, weakening your work. It looks fantastic, it will work 100%as it is. The lamination at the bottom where it connects to the boat is where to be picky. Great job.

[@Arnaud58]

There is always the possibility to inject them...

[@robm.4512]

@@ross82 Yup, you’re right and that’s why filling small voids with resin to stabilise them, or grinding out and repairing them with new layup, is important. The decision on which method to go with is directly affected by what the underlying layup consists of. If it’s biaxial or chopped strand cloth only there’s no huge downside to grinding out locally and providing a generous gentle taper up to the parent surface, then laying new glass to finish. To all intents it’ll be virtually as good as if it hadn’t happened. Where the void is beneath unidirectional cloth or long strand tow it’s a different story. The purpose of that material is to provide greatest strength in tension on a specific straight line load path. If the strands are broken or disrupted the real benefit of using them is gone, so in that instance the lesser evil is usually to stabilise the offending void by backfilling it with epoxy via a syringe. The two small holes that are required, one to inject resin in and one to vent air out, involve the minimum possible loss of unbroken linear strands, thus retaining maximum strength in tension, whilst at the same time preventing future delamination progression. It sure beats starting all over again from scratch anyway, which is the kinda nuclear option. Hope that all kind of makes sense. Composite layup design optimisation and manufacture is a vast but interesting technical subject and learning how to go about sorting the production snags that inevitably occur, without just scrapping a part that comes out slightly less than perfect, is a whole subject within itself. Fascinating, though it helps to be a bit of tech geek. Now, where’s my slippers? 😂 Cheers, R. 😎👍🍻

[@teeanahera8949]

*effect

[@SailingKitabu]

Nothing is perfect, drill and fill if so desired. In the end it will be about holding that part to the boat and holding the traveler to the parts. I might have considered using double 3/4 hydrotek marine plywood for this part for stiffness akd strength, plus fasteners set better. Good work keep going, long road ahead yet

[@tobymcnaughton520]

Thanks

[@TheDuracellProject]

Thank you 🥰

[@caseylittel1742]

That scene of you guys discussing the new boat in the yard ..... Tooooooooo funny!

[@TotalBoat]

Love the family fiberglassing bonding time! Teamwork makes the dreamwork

[@luisribeiro8214]

Great video guys....this is a giant project - thanks for brining us along!

[@vialard74]

If the issue is the long time to get vacuum pulled and all the air-leaks sealed, we had success on getting large vacuum-bags set-up quickly using an air compressor. Unscrew the air-intake from the compressor... usually 1/4 or 3/8 NPT, and connect your vacuum hose to that. It will suck the bag down quick! Seal the air leaks, then switch to the traditional vacuum pump. Just an idea.

[@TheDuracellProject]

Good idea. I also just got a bigger vacuum which should do the trick

[@DaEVOthefreak]

ohh i love that F / C - boat. I Dream from an ocean going faltable trimaran in the 40's range

[@DrMott]

Nothing like a super tight fit with that bag on the layup. Lots of variables with this particular job!

[@SailingTipsCa]

Small world - I nearly bought that very same F-25C before finding a local F-82R instead. We also noted that she needed deck repair work so I’m interested in what you guys find! Good to have her in the PNW in any case!

[@TheDuracellProject]

wow, small world!

[@chantedefelepe]

Wow mate stop being so hard on yourself remember this is supposed to be fun your doing great truly ❤

[@bendaves77]

Those corsair trimaran sailboats are fast from what I've seen..I believe this is why Matt is giggling about the boat when he's telling you that this is a whole different animal compared to any other boat you've been on

[@guillaumel.8610]

Mat has the exact same look with this friend's boat as me in front of my wife when I got a new pair of skis which "not totally mine" and "didn't cost anything" :D

[@BreakingBarriers2DIY]

Glad the "Dad Joke" stayed.

[@TruceBags]

Thanks so much for all these great videos, I'm refitting a 38 foot carbon fiber racer/cruiser down in Oregon and it's awesome having a pro like yourself to learn some techniques from!

[@TheDuracellProject]

glad it's helpful!

[@j.e.rehler8172]

The video editing and music selections really stand out--great job - helps the main story to be explained in an interesting manner. Have enjoyed your previous videos but this one stood.

[@MC-re2ry]

Thank you!

[@26N80W]

Nice music choice for the time lapse sequences. I vote to get mom & dad involved full time. I want to see you guys sailing this beast as soon as possible.

[@PN_48]

Love that tri! And great progress on Duracell as well👍

[@TheDuracellProject]

thanks Nathan!

[@phildavis2544]

I'm so glad you didn't cut the "Familation" joke from the final cut. Makes me wonder what other gems you've been cutting 🙂

[@billwoolmer8495]

I think it is awesome that your parents are there to help you both with this amazing project.

[@brianplay4758]

I think the best joke was family “bonding” as you fiberglass together.

[@sailingsomeday5975]

Great video guys....this is a giant project - thanks for brining us along! ....The difference between dogs and cats....dogs will keep coming to be in the middle of whatever you are doing - Cats will sit up high - look down own you like your a peasant 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bubbleobill267]

Don’t be too hard on yourself. The voids are fine as they are, it’s looking bulletproof!.

[@dukedoker8899]

the amount of non recyclable garbage and waste generated in fiberglassing is freakin mind boggling.

[@TheDuracellProject]

we do our best to re-use!

[@theresnobodyhere5778]

yes there is an incredible amount of stress and torque on mainsheet traveller ,i.m just fixing the stress cracks along the centre position were the boom sits majority of time ,i dont think you should break the knit of the weave on the glass you've laid by grinding air bubbles out just inject bubbles with epoxy the job will be stronger also the stress is spread out along the traveller its a great job yous have done well thought out

[@jimedson3853]

Great video. I am coming to a new appreciation for the planning and forethought needed for this project. I got to thinking about all the work of measuring, cutting and preparation of the materials prior to the videos of the actual lamination. Thanks for the video.

[@philkakid5617]

Perfect is the enemy of good.

[@tomcraddock244]

It’s wonderful watching you put the pieces of this puzzle together.another great episode Mat !! Fair winds ⛵️

[@thomasvrieze527]

Everyone has had to grind some glass, everything I saw looked pretty good. Nice work.

[@Bladerunner264]

I'm glad familation made the cut. I lolled...who doesn't love a dad joke right??

[@patquintin3730]

family bonding over bonding

[@mp6756]

Don't grind them out I agree with the comment that points out the fact that cutting the continues strands will do harm to what is an amazingly good job. Don't beat yourself up over a few very small voids it is as strong as it was intended. And I think it is like everything I've seen you do till now way way strong enough. I think you could lift the boat from that bulkhead and swing it around the yard like a kite in a gale. Call it a job well done because it is. Congratulations that was a big step. Stay safe thanks for the video

[@brandonlamondin6228]

Voids can be fixed sometime with a syringe of resin and drilling a small hole. Fill the void if its big enough and you should be fine.

[@christopherbrand5360]

Yes, two small holes is good. One for epoxy to go in and one for air to come out. Both at the top of the void as close to level with each other as possible.

[@JohnJohn-cu7nk]

The strength is the mat not the epoxy. That's why he uses the vacuum bag to reduce the amount of epoxy in the fiberglass

[@dcallan812]

The "new" boat is a nice two-tone colour scheme. and a verry modern look. I would very much enjoy a quick look inside one episode (if the owner won't mind) Great update 👍👍

[@adamdavies272]

Love this project mate , really enjoying seeing each step taking place and soaking in the all the knowledge I can for my own work as a boatbuilder. Just great Looking forward to the next one Duracell is gona be one hell of a boat

[@TheDuracellProject]

cheers Adam and thanks!

[@barryfern5377]

I always get blown away by your skill, stunning 😁

[@bojangles8837]

Good engineering; understands that every system has a weakest point-a fuse, if you like-and it pays to be mindful and intentional about where those points are.

[@ducbox572]

This is why there are factors of safety in engineering.

[@212caboose]

I love seeing updates on this build!

[@matthiasvonmutius9264]

+ on using resin infusion, it's really nice to first have the vacuum at 100% and only then starting with the resin. I did a lot of resin infusion when I rebuild my F9RX one off and when building a new carbon fibre boom and the new rudder for it. The magic is to use MTI vacuum hose. It lets air through but not the resin, so no need for calculating the number and places of the resin injection tubes. And if you use very slow and liquid epoxy you can be sure to have a nearly 100 percent perfect result. Cheers Matthias

[@TheDuracellProject]

I thought long and hard about doing infusion on this one but I have never done infusion before and didn’t want this one to be my first one. I talked to some guys who are infusions xperts and they said this would be a really tough one. I will be learning how to do infusion for the interior work.

[@matthiasvonmutius9264]

Hi yes it is quite a task when you do infusion for the first time, especially when you have no MTI tubes, you then want to have a lot of different injection tubes and some separate vacuum hoses as well and a resin trap is essential to not destroy the vacuum pump with epoxy. I know the MTI hoses are not cheap but they work very well. If you need some more information about the special tricks you can always reach me. Matthias

[@bake162]

What a treat to have the F-25 at your disposal! Nice of your family to help

[@johnhewett2525]

I work on my own most of the time and on a project like this I would be looking at resin infusion, Infusion takes out all the worry involved with gel time and bag sealing. Even so it was a very enjoyable video. Good luck with the rest of the build.

[@flossey100]

I admire your commitment to doing the job well and going with the ups and downs towards your end goal….well done! Thanks for explaining what a traveler is as boats are out of my area of experience……except for sea sickness on ferries!

[@Tomm9y]

Great lamination and team. It will be interesting to see how the longtitudional/sheering mainsheet loads are handled as they will likely be greater off the wind. Hope the cabin top continues aft of the traveller bulkhead, giving protection.

[@chrislee7817]

Don't beat yourself up over the bagging. That's a really difficult shape to seal. I do vacuum infusion on carbon parts and I know how difficult it is to do this sort of thing on your own. So difficult when you are on the clock for resin going off. Your endurance is excellent. Love the tri

[@richardelder256]

Hi Chris Matt's vacuum bagging technique is really excellent, but wet epoxy lay up is still a race with the clock. With infusion of large and complex parts, resin that is kicking on earlier stages of the infusion is not a problem as long as the resin front is still fully liquid. (60' catamaran hulls, 2'" thick engine beds on a 150 foot motor yacht.) My materials rep taught us a trick to catch up with any voids that develop in the resin front. You use a needle and tube connected to the vacuum, ready to go. If you need to pull resin into a developing void you just stick it through the bag with a little bit of sealing tape around the needle. When the dry area is full of resin pull the needle out through the tape and seal the puncture.

[@chasingsunsets380]

You are doing a great job. Like me, you are very hard on yourself and hate mistakes. That is good and bad because the drive to do it correct means you do not want to have to do double work. It is bad because you can become too focused. There are a few mistakes that are not worth the effort. Pick your battles and fight the important ones. The overall shear strength is the key, if the void is small, is the repair worth the effort, this is not an underwater area.

[@Deutschtown]

Very enjoyable episode. Thanks

[@steveraleigh100]

you have the coolest parents.

[@Ravenswingsailing]

Oh boy, you too??? I also learned it's difficult to seek an F25c fixer project into the yard. My wife came home and asked WTF is that mauve-colored trimaran doing folded up out back?! Can't explain it til 'ya sail it ;). Hope you can keep us posted with little side updates on that one too. Curious how your lamination schedules are being developed? Are the potential loads being calculated and converted to compression and tension numbers for each glass layer? Seems hard to find a naval architect who would commit to retrofit numbers such as this. A bit of over building here is probably a good thing, where it would be a big problem on that little carbon tri! Congrats on getting your folks into the epoxy. Great stuff you guys!

[@Ravenswingsailing]

...oops - difficult to sneek

[@TheDuracellProject]

Evan, the naval architect helping me out , calculated the loads for the chainplate and the traveler bulkhead.

[@Ravenswingsailing]

@@TheDuracellProject Yea for Evan! I have Ian Farrier’s very detailed plans for building the composite chainplates & forestay of the F39 tri, handling about 130,000lbs righting moment. Happy to share in support of your project if that’s helpful. -greg

[@wimmol]

Vacuüm bagging on existing work , wich may or may not be airtight is a step into the unknown . I used to work , although a long time ago , on wood core epoxy cruising and racing yachts . At the time we where vacuüm bagging smaller projects . But never such a complex job as you have been doing . I watch with curiosity .

[@DigitalDorel]

Instead of grinding out the part, I recommend trying drilling a hole and injecting epoxy into the hole and into the void behind the lamination. Then put tape on the hole to hold the epoxy in

[@FunsongsMusicByPeterRahill]

13:35 - okay, let the puns begin: "Family Bonding" - "The Glue Crew" - "the family that glues together, sticks together"... etc. etc. etc. "The Sticky Goop Group". OK, I'll stop.

[@TheDuracellProject]

don't stop! we love puns.

[@FunsongsMusicByPeterRahill]

@@TheDuracellProject Well, you've probably heard of The Blue Man Group... so, you can run with glue puns from there. PS: heading to the studio today 10/9 to work on the hornpipe project: "Sticky Goop". Hope to have something to send your way soon. Stay 'tuned'. Your friendly desktop phantom shipmate.

[@maggus2012]

I love the work you put into your boat. But why did you not put unidirectional layers on the part below the window to the bulkhead? In the end, if you are trying to hold an upwards load, the first failure point imo would be the bond between your unidirectional and the old bulkhead. By adding layers below the window, you would increase the bond area.

[@bdphourde]

Isn't it great to have family close! Can you still get all the large items down into the cabin?

[@TheDuracellProject]

Yep, through the dog house. I am waiting glass in the roof so that I can slide it back.

[@ed_cetera]

My vote for the familamination joke

[@CentristRN]

That multidirectional stuff with the chopstrand on one side is so hard to wet out. I’m just a hack but feel like suggestions to inject epoxy into voids wouldn’t add any strength. Looks strong as is.

[@cliffjamerson3107]

Yes sir

[@jakeoddmonic2956]

3:40 I was like is he gonna vac bag it then the adhesive spray came out heheheh , I want to do R2AK if you ever need crew I’m in 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻

[@judys45]

What Matt didn’t mention was that their boat won the very first R2AK!

[@jakeoddmonic2956]

Thats so cool, I’ve watched most of the R2AK videos just beautiful area and what a challenge

[@GeorgeGraves]

(4:27) - so cute!

[@johnhewett2525]

David Johnson from Wessex Resins & Adhesive's in one of his video's put me onto using a piece of flexible electrical conduit as a stethoscope to find leaks in the vacuum bag. Cheap and it does work.

[@andyucee3008]

That was awesome.

[@Mountainmandean207]

cool boat ! just subscribed

[@robmclaughlin420]

Your work is awesome

[@CapoPina]

Nice job Family

[@tdvick1961]

love your project,

[@davidr8309]

Have you thought about using a resin infusion process for the more complex animations like this. It gives you all the time you need to get it set up and the bag sealed. Although if it doesn’t work it can be really bad.

[@clayfarnet970]

My wife got home today to find a motorcycle in the garage. I don’t understand why wives don’t like motorcycles. Next time it’ll be a boat. 😂😂 Bikes n boat…can’t go wrong.

[@cattaraugustonawanda4426]

Not sure I understand both the design of the bulkhead and how the traveler will attach. Dynamic load in so many directions seems difficult to define to determine strength required. Kudos to your Mom and Dad for working with you !!!

[@robertrennie9454]

We would drill voids and inject resin with a syringe on aircraft

[@danielsundberg1977]

Why did you not fair those void areas first before laminating, what was your thought process on that?

[@Satwamassive]

Familation!

[@xavdarb5899]

I'm living in France (and it's pretty late right now, and I'm gonna go laminated my stuff) since one month I'm working on my project Wich requires a lot of skills on lamination and honestly mat your project is well managed and perfectly done. I do sailing as well can't wait the next go! Thanks a lot to teaching me and giving me motivation!

[@lovesunstory]

Thanks for your vids helping alot i have implemented your tips, im using it now on My channel

[@Clayne151]

That concave part on the top seems really hard to get right with just a vacuum bag. Maybe additionally some kind of brace, padded with foam that presses everything together on that area might work better?

[@TheDuracellProject]

If I had gotten it to suck immediately it would have worked. I did get a bigger pump and I am confident that will fix the problem

[@crphilipp]

Can’t you drill a hole in the void and inject epoxy resin to fill it?

[@christopherbrand5360]

Yes, two small holes is good. One for epoxy to go in and one for air to come out. Both at the top of the void as close to level with each other as possible.

[@The_ElunduExpeditionProject]

In stead of grinding out those small voids just drill a hole at eaxh end and inject a cotton flocks mixture into it. Easy peasy.

[@CuestaBroadcasting]

When in doubt, spend the extra cash on a slower hardener to get your vacuum bag drawing properly. (I'm guessing you bought in bulk). Waiting two days for a full cure is still faster/stronger than grinding and re-laminating. What vacuum bagging material are you using? It looks too thin for such a large lamination. You might also want to invest in an ultrasonic leak detector. It will save you some time, and they have come down in price (at least they were before COVID). For some reason, even though you were outside, I was concerned that you weren't wearing a respirator. For a backyard builder it may not be a big deal, but for a professional boat builder, an epoxy sensitivity could end your career.

[@darrylellison4933]

** Dont get too concerned if you get a couple of voids, they can be easily repaired, thats the beauty of f/glass. Also consider using other composite materials for high load are'as such as Carbon Fibre. CarbonFibre and Kelvar are both great for assisting in the rebuild, when used to their effective strengths. Great job,, great video's

[@matthewsellers82]

I'm guessing the bulkhead was designed for a peak transient dynamic tension load from an unintentional jibe plus a safety margin. I'm sure there will be an engineering study somewhere looking at structural weakening through voids but personally, I doubt your structure is significantly weakened by the small voids shown

[@richardsiddon610]

😂Looking strong enough from here.🙂

[@mckenziekeith7434]

You have way more skill and experience with this stuff than I do. But I will just throw out a few thoughts. The glass would have stuck better in those areas if you had faired them out to be less concave. I think the glass pulled away there because it was so concave. Second thought is that you don't absolutely have to vacuum bag every lamination. You could just use mechanical fasteners in a few key places (like concave areas) to make sure the glass stays where you want it. Then cover with peel ply and a breather cloth if needed.