Weekend progress

So this past Friday, I received my initial order of various fabrics which means that I can now proceed with some work on the raised (flat) section of the floats. I will also be able to do an infusion test in regards to the longitudinal stringers running along the inside of the floats.

I'm concerned about that area because the stringer is a 6" (150mm)W x 1.25" (32mm)H x (various length) reinforcing piece that sits on TOP of some dry fabric and is then covered with additional dry fabric. The worst thing that can happen is that the fabric UNDER the stringer does not get wet out during the Infusion. That's a situation to avoid, so I have some cheap foam pieces cut to size that will be laid up and infused to check the flow. One will be a solid piece while the other will be drilled through every 1" (25mm) to create a permeable surface (this is the recommended method). I'll plan to do that next weekend.

I also made some progress building out the wingnet attachment tube sections for both floats. I again made some "Pre-Preg" to situate between the foam to strengthen the joint. It's worth noting that his was the best infusion to date, because for the FIRST (hopefully not the LAST) time I got a ZERO leak bag without having to touch anything. I literally taped everything down, applied vacuum, did a leak check and infused. Normally, I spend quite a while chasing leaks.

And finally, after running my first fillets on the deck transition areas I was able to lay down the final topping coat of fairing compound on the float interior. The interior surface looks to be really nice and smooth.

Loaded up and ready for use

After this shot, I spent some time covering the fabric with trash bags. Most of the rolls required two bags.
I just ran the metal tube through the bottom of the trash bag and then pulled the trash bag over the fabric.
When I need fabric, I simply have to push the bags over the ends of the fabric roll and then pull off the required material before covering it up again. This should help keep things much cleaner when all the sanding starts.

Before Fillet

After Fillet (Before Tape applied)

13oz Carbon Fiber 0/90 (6 layers) being set up for making some Pre-Preg

All laid up and ready to open the resin intake valve.
A couple of things to note here:
1) The tubing clamp block built out of a small piece of scrap lumber. I simply routed out a tunnel for the tubing to run under the block so I don't have to worry about tape coming loose or crushing the tubing with the clamp.
2) The long clamp also provides a handy place to tape the intake tubing line onto.

(You can also see my trash bag covered fabric rolls in the background)

This picture was taken after the infusion was completed.
I have already cut the intake line past the clamp and taken care of cleaning up the resin bucket.
Immediately after this picture was taken, I brushed a thin layer of epoxy directly onto the foam and then opened up the bag to pull off the layers of pre-preg and lay them into position.

The Carbon fiber is between the pieces of foam and extends out toward the middle of the float.

Twelve hours later the resin was hard enough to allow cutting the excess material that was hanging inside this section.

The next day I spent a few minutes sanding down the "V" section here to a more concave shape in order to accept the tubing

Fiberglass tubing (scuffed with 32-grit and cleaned with Bio-Solv) laid onto a bed of high-density epoxy.
Once cured, I will wrap these with a layer of 12oz  45/45 S-glass.
Then finally I can set one of them into the float for further processing.
(The other one will be for the Port Float)