Plug Options

Now that I have the design for my 1:10 boat, I was thinking of some alternate ways to build a plug. Curious if anyone had tried them or wanted to offer their opinions. For my TP52 I built the plug a (10 whole piece) deck and hull. For my next I thought I might try the hull on one building board and the deck on another, then marrying the two when complete. This would allow me to keep them on the boats all the way through the fairing proceess. Another idea that would allow the same benefit, was too build the boat in halves, port of one building board and starboard on another. I know they build the real AC boat in halves. Opinions are much appreciated.

I used foam covered with plastic tape to lay up the F-48 and the MultiONE hulls and floats. Instead of pulling the 2 layers of glass as the final hull and float, I suppose I could have added fiber and heavy fabric to build a mould. I didn’t intend to build a series of hulls, so mine was a one-off from the start.

The original hulls were built in halves - split vertically along the keel, but they were a real pain to align - but probably because of the organic shape of the hull itself - not many straight lines. Was a bit of work to get bulkheads installed too. Jake has done a split US1M set of half-hulls and it looks like they came out OK - but I never had a chance to ask if he had any alignment problems during their assembly.

Also neither the 1 Meter or the F-48 multihull had any flat deck surface so can’t help you there.

My guess would be a full hull like your current boat, with straight gunwales where you can align the deck might be a fast and more accurate build. If you split the hulls, keep in mind you now have to build a left side, a right side and the deck - increasing the layup and fairing process considerably.

Just some thoughts

Dick,
If I built halves it was going to be hlaf hull and deck, similar to my existing plug, just cut down the middle. Sometimes I think that if I am going to end up joining them anyway, why not do it the way I did my TP. BUT, if I did, hull and deck, i could plank at the same time rather than waiting for the hull to be complete then planking the deck. Thanks for the input.

Another thought - How about thinking of a separate deck a bit oversized?

Once attached to the full hull, a Dremel tool could make quick work in bringing down to size with careful, but minimal sanding to follow. In other words, lay up the hull as you did (full width) and at the same time, on a piece of waxed glass, layup the deck. Just enlarge beam and length a tad to allow easy alignment. Consider that many kits provide a separate hull and deck, and once the insides are built and installed, the deck simply goes on like a cover to a box - akes it pretty easy. If deck isn’t flat, it could be strip built like the hull with just a small bit of camber.

Since this is a scale boat the deck won’t be completely flat, but will have a full skiff cockpit and deck house to comply with the rating rules (of the big boat). Should be a sweet boat, and will def. take a while, as my TP52 has, but in the end it will be a grand old thing (well new).

Unless you have a radical and compound deck camber, using very thin strips and a single layer of glass (maybe 2 oz.) would give you a fairly flat deck but with enough flex to allow some bending to fit curved deck beams across the width of the boat. The glass will act as a substrate to maintain strip integrity as it is formed over your deck beams. The skiff type of cockpit and deckhouse can be fashioned from foam and “could” be glassed into placce and left there - or they could work as a male part of the plug as well. If you elect to build a plug, try to visualize everything backwards, and be sure to leave relief angles to let you remove the final part. It might not be scale “looking” to have sloped walls in cockpit (as example) but it beats having a part you can’t remove from the plug.

Yikes ! :scared:

Rememeber that Heaven Can Wait used a toilet brush holder to mold his deckhouse. Look around and maybe something obvious is handy to help you get the shape you want.

When did anyone not armed with a piece of balsa and a boy scout badge last see a deck beam? In the real world DECKS ARE SANDWICHES.

:devil3: :zbeer:

My good (?) man …

  1. I am an Eagle Scout with bronze and silver palms (beyond standard 21 merit badges) - so take some exception to your comment. :wink:

  2. For a curved deck on probably a one-off boat, a curved deck beam can quickly be built, stripped and covered. No need to build a "plug unless there is a decision to go the production route.

  3. Glass and balsa “IS” a sandwich, and may even be called a “composite” deck in the real world to help sell the concept of “high-tech”. I did say strips, not end grain, just to clarify.

  4. :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: so there !

Touche - I must admit that for many purposes my favourite (full size) core material is balsa.

But beams?!

:slight_smile: :zbeer: