C-Forum

I'm thinking of trying to make a C1 with a simillar design to a spanish fly, probably wider ends, and not quite as high, but almost. I've never made a boat or a mold. I'm going to experiment layering/repairing a boat.

Can anyone give advice on making a mold, ie. do you make it out of ply wood and layer on top of that or do you layer inside. Best way to connect top and bottom half of mold, what do you use to keep the mold from sticking to the hull. what books to read how much/layers kevlar to use- if weight isn't too much of a concern can you layer kevlar/abs etc...
Best adhesive-

The more info the better.

Thanks
Bill

Resources I'd recommend are:
1: The Boatbuilder's Manual By Charlie Walbridge. It's out of print now, you can probably get a used copy from Amazon.com. It's also somewhat outdated, but there's still lots of useful information on the basics and technique and lots of good theory.

2: John Sweet's article on mold construction and maitenance http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... 130&is=REG
It's a good, detailed way to make a basic mold. I've used it with success.

3: Lots of articles at Fibreglast.com
http://www.fibreglast.com/contentpages- ... es-23.html

My two biggest pieces of advice are don't try to cut any corners and to start with a small project. This gives you an idea of the labor and cost involved, without as much cost. You'll be making $100 mistakes, instead of $1000 mistakes. I started out making some helmets, and I'm now in the process of working on my first boat. I feel like I've aquired the skill and knowledge to take on a big project now.

Let me know if you've got any questions
Jeremy
Jeremy@ChasingRain.com

Look in their out-of-print section.

You should try to get a mold for the Spanish Fly, or an actual boat.

Build a plug using boat parts taken from the Fly mold (or the actual boat) making the modifications you want with auto body putty, fiberglass, or foam. Then make a mold of your new (some say stolen) design from that plug. Use that new mold to produce the boat you want.

Boats with decks usually involve using a male plug to get a female mold. The mold is usually in two parts, joined along a line where the deck and hull meet. Some mold builders make a seperate mold for the rim (good idea.) Each half of the female mold produces a male part which is then assembled (seamed) to make a decked boat. You will have to be pretty creative to deal with the considerable problem of the large cockpit rim on the Fly.

Forget using kevlar until you have built a few boats from glass and polyester synthetics. Making a plug is much more work than building a boat from a mold. Making a mold from a plug is more work than building a plug. Expect to spend three or four times as much time and money to build a plug and mold as you would to build a boat from an existing mold.

Thanks for the input, ideas and references- it sounds like this might be an expensive project. I do have a Spanish Fly- but it would be interesting to see what Bell is doing with the Aftershock molds.

Bill