Sad day in Sydney with the hostage drama and the loss of two great lives. It is hard to be cheerful when there is so much sorrow but I battled on with the four sheets of plywood that would finish off the cockpit. First I had to cut dress fit and install some floor bearers for the 1.6 metre wide aft section. While the glue was curing I cut the four panels and fitted and installed them progressively. It was a big glue day with some long and wide gluing surfaces which required a big batch of glue. In the heat it was a battle to spread the glue before the mass in the glue pot heated up and accelerated the set time. To keep the glue time short each panel was pre drilled and temporary supports places so that the panel could be placed promptly. The process worked well but it was a long day and well after six when I downed tools happy with the effort.
Didi 40cr wide stern racing cockpit fitted and glued in place
The photo shows the 850 mm wide fore cockpit and the 1.6 metre wide aft cockpit which gives a lot of room for a racing crew. Next job is to router the edges of the underside of the cockpit and glass the underside. I am going to glass both sided of the cockpit floor for in the front section to avoid the need for deck beams that would protrude into the quarter berth space. Instead the underside or the cockpit floor will be smooth. The join in the two sections is a butt join staggered so that the join is not in line with the frame. Once the hull is right way up the join will be ground back and glassed for a strong durable join.