Daggerboard trunk

14.01 in Boat Plans, daggerboard, trunk

Tonight I only had time to assemble the daggerboard trunk. A quick sanding on the edges smoothed the mating surfaces for the spacers. Then I mixed up some unthickened epoxy and gave the interior surfaces another coat to fill the weave of the fiberglass. The remaining epoxy I thickened with Cabosil, and spread it on the mating surfaces of both panels. The spacers were put in place, and sandwiched between the panels. It was surprisingly difficult to align everything when the clamps were put on. All the pieces slipped and slided, until the majority of epoxy was finally squeezed out. I then gave the parts one more alignment, shifting clamps as I went. After I brushed off most of the excess epoxy, I brought the part in the house to cure in the warmer air. Total time 51.25.

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DB trunk fillet

19.17 in Boat Plans, db, fillet, trunk

With about 6 ounces of wood flour-thickened epoxy, I laid a neat fillet on the joints of the daggerboard trunk/middle seat assembly. This was after unscrewing the DB trunk from the bulkhead where it had been test fitted yesterday. I drilled a small pilot hole through the seat where the channel of the trunk had been marked. This will serve as a marker later on when I open up the slot from the other side for the daggerboard. Peanut butter epoxy was then spread on the interface between the bulkhead and the trunk spacer, and on the top edges of the trunk, where they contact the underside of the seat. The trunk was then returned to its position, screwed back in place, and re-aligned. The epoxy fillet was then applied with the plastic "pastry bag" applicator method. A large radius tongue depressor was used to smooth and shape the fillets, and an alcohol-soaked rag was used to wipe up the few drips. Later on when the epoxy has partially cured, the fillets can be smoothed further. Total hours 53.00.

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DB trunk mockup

04.53 in Boat Plans, db, mockup, trunk

Continuing on with the construction of the center seat/daggerboard trunk assembly: After 24 hours of curing, the spacers were trimmed, and the mating edges of the daggerboard trunk were sanded flush. Then came the initial fitting and masking for the filleting of the whole unit.

Essentially, the daggerboard trunk is a hole in the bottom of the boat. Since the hole is sealed to a collar the rises from the hole higher than water level, buoyancy is not threatened. But this is perhaps one of the more critical steps in building a Passagemaker dinghy. The daggerboard trunk contains many joints, all of which must be absolutely waterproof. Also, since this is the slot that the daggerboard passes through, it must be plumb, square, and aligned with the centerline of the boat. So tonight was a trial run in assembling the trunk proper, the midships seat, and the center bulkhead all into one unit. Being careful to keep checking for squareness and plumb, I marked the final position of all the parts. Then, 1-1/4" bronze screws were countersunk through the bulkhead into the aft spacer of the trunk. When everything was finally aligned, the borders of the future epoxy fillets were masked with tape, to give clean edges. All is ready for the permanent epoxying of this unit. Total hours 52.25.

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