GREAT forensics, Scott.
Love this kind of attention we give the ole girls.
Those extra laminations sound like a real good solution to making the whole strongback/bulkhead and mastload area as rigid and immovable as possible.
Think of you as in the restoration camp of Ariel upgrades. You are careful to honor the original intent of the designer/architect....whot's his name?
Many owners will want to see photos of your work. I know I'd like to see how the glassing went.
And the final result!
[Ebb has his caveats:
All rain water intrusions from the deck thru the repair area have to be completely sealed, ie bolts, screws, chainplates, electrical holes.
There should be no standing fresh water possible inside the mast. Don't want any water getting inside the new skin.
It sounds like you had the beam incorporated into the new interior skin reinforcement.
If you have an original oak strongback and it is now covered you might get away with it because of its age.
New oak won't accept regular polyester imco. I haven't worked with epoxy modified polyester.
But, as you know, if you laminated over everything (ply bulkhead - strongback - overhead) you are now getting the whole area into sharing the support of the mast load.
For DIYs: Styrene is a dangerous volatile component of vinylester. You ought to wear an appropriate canister mask for interior work and keep the boat clear of heavier-than-air fumes with forced air.
Imco vinylester should only be used by pros.
The right epoxy is much more user friendly and does a better job of gluing dissimilar materials together.
It must have been a difficult job of work - especially the prep and overhead work - and all the corners that had to be turned with wet Xmatt - would like a peek.]
Reply With Quote