MERLIN ROCKET FORUM

Topic : Carbon sheathing decks - Q for BmaxRog or anyone whos done it

I now have 3425 the last NSM 1 to be registed Im told - its a glass boat with wood decks and the fore deck removed with an ali space frame in its place - its down to weight and carrying correctors.

FAO BmaxRog Ref carbon sheathing the deck - did you make moulds of the deck area and then lay up the carbon in the mould then release it and then bond it to the wood?

Or just lay on some carbon weave direct to the deck itself ?

Also - anyone have a view on the best place to get supplies to do this job ?

Any advise from others that have done this would be great !

Many thanks

Conor


Posted: 24/08/2005 15:11:06
By: Conor
Conor,
Hi, I laid the Carbon on by hand, which , yeah, I know, is not the perfect way to do it, but it has seemed to have worked OK. There's a number of advantages to doing this AFAIK. Panatellas decks were in a bit of a state, which left me with the options of either trying to strip them, revarnish etc. etc. with the knowledge that they would still be stained/grotty/watermarked when I'd finished, OR redeck completely, which looked like mega work, mega skill level, hefty cost and long time.
Taking the quick n dirty route, I decided to carbon sheath it. Yes it adds extra weight, but it sure is a shedload stiffer, and it's tied together the gunnels, inwhales/carlins and decks, all of which were starting to sail in formation, rather than actually being joined together.
Stripping decks of old varnish suddenly gets really easy when you're using a belt sander with 60 grade set to high speed!
Then paint decks with neat epoxy, allow to go off for about 16-20 hours, then coat again. Allow to start to go tacky, then smooth on 200g woven carbon fabric. Then squeegee on more epoxy. Don't brush on, otherwise it adds too much weight. Lots of useful tips on the Cherub site on how to get smooth overlaps etc.
Consider painting it a pale colour-black decks burn your arse!


Posted: 24/08/2005 16:25:21
By: BmaxRog
Sorry, should have added, get the materials from www.cfsnet.co.uk


Posted: 24/08/2005 16:32:44
By: BmaxRog
Are you Graham Conor by any chance? or just unfortunate to have a similar name?
If you are give me a call cobber.


Posted: 24/08/2005 21:01:37
By: Barry Watkin
It's like the Terminator

"You Sarah Conor?"


Posted: 25/08/2005 08:31:46
By: Jon
First name is Conor...

Thanks for replies - decks arnt too bad and so Im of two minds about covering them up ......

Im carrying correctors and IMHO the weight is far better used in structural additions

Regards

Conor


Posted: 26/08/2005 13:36:04
By: Conor

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