Filling and fairing
Casting a critical eye over the project boat’s lines, David Pugh and Ben Meakins set to work filling and fairing to make the hull smooth
PBO Project Boat gets smoother
Last month, we explained how we built up the chine panels on our project Secret 20 using cedar strip and epoxy. Aided by a little filler, this approach got us most of the way to completing the required curve, but they still needed fairing to get them to their final shape.
Other areas which still needed careful shaping were the angle between the keel and the bottom hull panels, the stem and the transition between the 6mm midships hull panels and the 4mm bow panels. Additionally, the entire hull needed checking for high and low spots, and fairing as required. Fairing is one of those jobs that can go on for ever, with endless rounds of filler and interminable sanding – and, to coin a phrase, you reach the ‘sod it and move on’ stage. We’re not quite there yet – there are a few more rounds of filler to go – but it’s not far off!
It’s the same idea, but easier than drawing a grid on the hull skin.
Another technique we found useful was a laser level. These project a long, straight line which when shone onto an irregular surface shows any lumps and bumps quite well. We found it works best when the laser is angled obliquely to the surface. A lower tech method is to use strips of tape, which just like the camber stripe on a sail help to show if a curve is fair or not.