Forward Compartment

The forward compartment has a volume of around 38 litres and is designed to be filled with buoyancy foam. This was a very difficult area to fillet and sheath, but nonetheless I managed to produce a good neat tight finish to the filleting and fibre glass tape. I then applied a liberal coating of epoxy to the inside of the compartment and to the bottom and edges of the covering floor board. I then filled the compartment in two stages with a two part polyurethane foam; this was to prevent the material overheating. When mixed, the buoyancy foam expands at an alarming rate and generates heat. On the final pour, I screwed, glued and weighted down the floor board with a flat board laden with concrete blocks whilst the foam was still expanding, allowing the foam to make contact with the underside of the floor and ooze out around the sides. The excess was trimmed off when set. This floor board is designed to be fixed, I therefore decided to apply an epoxy fillet, sheath, fill and fair the same. I propose to paint this area forward of the final bulkhead before the bottom of the anchor/mooring well is fitted, access is restricted and wielding a roller and brush would be difficult. I shall apply masking tape to the areas that are subject to epoxy gluing and filleting to ensure the paint does not interfere with the bond. 

This photograph shows the sealed front compartment floor board fitted. Filleting to bulkheads, fixed forward locker side boards and shelving are all faired and ready for painting. The centre panel is removable to access the locker space below.

Whilst working in this area I trimmed the head of the stem. You can clearly see the laminated layers of hardwood and plywood that create the profile. The step in the stem below the bolt, is the forward support of the anchor/mooring well bottom.