Normal transmission will resume now that we have returned from a three week break in France including sailing in the Laser Masters World Championships. The venue at Hyeres on the Mediterranean was a delightful place to sail and also observe the end of seasons antics at the local marina. An aggressive looking Black Pepper Code 1 was lifted up for the winter break. She had a nice carbon bow prodder that could be rotated up when required and that is food for thought. The other activity was the repairs to a J 109 which had run aground and damaged the glass at the front and rear of the keel.
Back home while recovering from jet lag I have glued up the first of the floor frames that will support the keel. The frames have been increased 10 mm to 80 mm width for extra factors of safety and to allow for larger keel bolts for the 200 mm deeper keel we will fit. Because there is a large span between frames D and F where the 44mm stringers are unsupported I have lofted up the frame profile on the floor and glued up the the frame in a jig rather than in situ. It is more pleasant working on the floor and gluing down hand and the accurately constructed frame will secure the stringers in the designed location.
By the time you deduct the depth of plywood plus 44 mm stringers plus the depth of the frame the inside radius of the frame at the ends is around 710 mm depending on the amount of taper in the floor. This is a very tight bend for eight layers of meranti that is tapered from 3mm at the tip to 6 mm at the centre. It is right on the limit of fracture of the meranti so all saw marks and any stress concentration points have to be planed smooth to avoid the timber cracking.
I am in two minds about the rest of the floors. Once the floor at frame E is secured in place I will see what stringer deflection I get using the build in situ method but I am quite content to loft up the balance of the frames since the floor rise and radius are constant and the only variable is the distance to the tangent stringer which can be measured off the hull. It really is that simple.
Didi 40Cr keel floor being clamped up in a floor jig