Because not much has taken place on the build it won’t take long to bring everyone up to speed.
First to correct the keel error we wrapped it with another 5 rounds of 12 oz glass. I noted in the forum that this was the least pleasing part of the build so far. Just as the first 5 layers the glass/epoxy wants to float off if you turn the keel to soon to complete the other side. No solution was found and we just let it cure most of the way and then flipped it. It’s finished now though and my estimate is about 2 hours of actual work but it was spread over about 3 days.
The spinnaker pole tube is also now in place. The hole for this is pre set during the layout 
process on bulkhead “E”. We carried the line forward through the hull and drilled a small hole to check alignment. After a few adjustments the hole is enlarged to accept the 3” PVC tube. We ran this long so we could be certain it would be lined up and then cut it back after the epoxy had cured. To keep the tube in place while we tacked it we used wedges and as it happened a plastic cup that was setting empty on the work bench. By roughing up the PVC the epoxy held very well. This had be a concern from the start but the designer reassured me it would be fine. The time to complete this I estimate at less that 2 hours spread over 1 or 2 days to allow curing.
As you can see we have the keel box installed. Because it was so cold in the shop we found we could get the fillets smoothed out only after they have been warmed up and to rest for about an hour with the whole cabin area covered and warmed. I don’t run the heat when it gets below 55 in the shop because it never shuts off. By butting a small portable heater and a flood lamp in the cabin and covering I can raise the temperature well into the 80’s very quickly.Lining up the box was fun. No less than 3 levels used at a time, wish I would have had some pictures. I was concerned that it would be out of square and plumb and the boat would just sail in circles. What I ended up doing was installing the three sections separately and allowing that to cure before setting the next in place. Checking for square and plumb each time. Took longer but I’m confident that the keel will run true.
You will notice the “extra” timber in the box. We had to add this to compensate for the error in sizing earlier. We could have cut the box down to fit but felt this would be fine. We decreased the size of the forward most support to maintain the center as designed.
The box it’s self contains a foam wedge for collision protect.
The time for all steps of the keel box construction and installation is 6 hours.
Next a layer of biaxial tape over all the fillets and unless we have overlooked something the sole can go in. I look for that to happen over the weekend.
Time: Additional 5 layers on keel including sanding 2 hours
Install Spinnaker Tube 2 Hours
Build and install Keel Box 6 Hours
Total this segment 10 hours Total Project 101 ½ hours
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