Attaching the Bulb

After bolting the halves together and smoothing and fairing the bulb, it was time to attach it to the keel fin.  At first, I was having a bugger of a time drilling through the keel.  I would get about an inch into it and the bit would bind and get stuck and eventually break.  Finally I discovered the key to drilling lead is to keep it lubricated.  If I kept spraying WD40 on the bit and in the hole, it drilled as easy as drilling wood and I had no more problems.

After bolting on the bulb, I made an epoxy fillet which I then reinforced with glass and carbon fiber. 

Playing with Molten Lead

Finally had some time to work on the boat again so I decided to tackle the keel bulb.  For a crucible I used the bottom of a 55 gallon drum with a spout on the side.  I then used an engine lift and attached chains slightly off center to the top of the crucible.  To melt the lead, we put it on a propane crab (turkey) cooker.  I also had a  propane weed burner hand wand I used to preheat the molds and to heat the lead from the top. It took about 15 minutes to melt the 250 lbs of lead for each half of the keel.  Once the lead was melted, we ever so slowly jacked the engine hoist which tipped the crucible pouring lead out the spout and into the mold.  Again, we made sure we had lots of protection and respirators.  Also we had a bit of a breeze and were able to always stay upwind.  I was kind of nervous about the whole process...but it actually went remarkably smooth!

The keel came out of the molds and looked prettty nice.  This picture shows the top and bottom halves put together.  (but it's actually upside down here)  The weight came out to 550 pounds...which, suprisingly, was what I was hoping it would be!  I love it when a plan comes together!

Picture of a very happy me getting ready to chisel off the ridge where the two halves meet.  Later I faired the bulb with compound...but it didnt need much.

Recycling!

Earlier in the year I got a call from David asking about the progress on the boat...because of course I've been terrible about keeping my blog updated!  After receiving my usual scolding, he gave me great news that he had found a source of lead for my keel bulb.  Turns out he discovered an old keel from a scrapped boat at his local marina.  The marina guys told him $50 if we picked it up ourselves.  $50 for 1000 pounds of lead is an amazing deal!  So I borrowed a truck and my dads tilt bed trailer and headed to Poulsbo.  We dug a hole under it enough to get a car jack under it and jacked it high enough to slide a round wooden fencepost under it.  Then using a couple hand winches and some more fence posts, we rolled it right up  the tilted  trailer.  When I got it home and rolled off the trailer, I used a chainsaw to cut it up into managable chunks.  Lead cuts like butter with a chainsaw.  Just make sure to use a tarp to catch all the shavings so they can also be melted down later...and of course make sure to wear safety gear and use the right respirator to keep from breathing lead dust!

Pulpit and Lifelines

Finally got my stanchions and pulpit built.  I used the tubing I got a few years ago when my friend Doug was scrapping an old boat.  I was able to cut up and modify things to fit my boat.  A big thanks to a certain person who doesn't want to be named but who did an awesome job welding all my stainless pieces with a stick arc welder.  I'm sure I'll eventually regret painting these pieces black when they start getting scratched..but right now I think they look awesome!

For lifelines, I decided to go with Amsteel by Samson.  Its super tough stuff and easy to work with.  Here's my eye splices at the back of the boat.  They are then lashed to the rear stanchion.  This way I can easily adjust the tension of the lifelines.

Making the Rudder Fast!

After shaping and fairing the blank, the rudder was covered in multiple layers of carbon and then a couple layers of e-glass to help protect the carbon from the stuff I will probably hit.  After trimming and a bit more fairing, I primed it with interprotect, and then painted it safety orange because I'm into safety and also someone once told me that orange is really fast!

A New Rudder

I decided the rudder I had shaped from pink insulation foam was nice practice but that I probably needed something a bit more substantial.  So I went to Fiberglass Supply and bought some actual structural foam core material.  I also had my friend Mitch weld up a stainless rudder post which I sandwhiched in between some carbon and the foam.

I used the same technique for shaping this blank as I had the pink foam one.  I used a template to trace the shape of the NACA foil on the end of the blank.  Then I repeatedly ran it through the table saw adjusting the blade each time for the correct depth to correspond to the foil shape. I then sprayed is red and sanded down to the red refference lines that were made.  Again, this worked really well.  Just a bit awkward with the weight of the stainless post on one end.

Painting The Hull

To paint the hull, I used Interlux Perfection.  It is pretty awesome stuff.  Unlike the topside paint, it is just a single part paint.  I applied it using a foam rubber roller.  It took me a few coats before I really figured the stuff out.  The key is to do only a couple square feet at a time.  After applying a couple square feet, I learned that by rolling it again super lightly that this would "tip" the paint and cause it to lay down nice and flat.  Then, whatever you do, dont try go back and fix anything, just move to the next section...and be quick about it or the sections won't blend!  I ended up with at least 5 coats.  The only problem is this stuff is so glossy and shiny that any little ripple or bump is easy to see and I found myself wishing I'd spent a few more weeks fairing the hull!  But overall, it looks really nice.  Unless you get within a foot of it and really examine it, it looks like it was sprayed.  And hopefully out on the water, no one is ever that close to the boat!