A STRONG BOTTOM

Exlex Minor will sometimes, after an ocean crossing be used as a beach landing craft. She will also be transported on trailers. This calls for a strong bottom.

To get a very strong bottom on a sandwich construction you need a tough core. Diab has supplied such a core. It has military specifications and is used for submarines among other thing. Yacht 40 – 50 -60 feet use a core of a density of about 80 kilo per cubic metre. The core I have chosen has a density of 350 kilos per cubic metre and is very strong, roughly strong in proportion to its density. Each sheet is tested.

I have now started to do the bottom.  The core is 27 mm thick. I cannot bend the sheets. They are to stiff.  Therefore I have cut them into smaller pieces and I am cross planking her bottom. That way I can give her the desired lungutudinal curvature.

Below some pictures.

Abowe: The first three cross planks.

A closer look. The circle is where the test piece has been taken. First I got angry at all those holes, but when Anders at Diab explain the purpose I got proud that such care had been taken to produce the material to my boat. No haphazard manners here.

65 centimeters of the lenght of the boats bottom has been done today.

I have also added 10 fluoerscent tube to get more light. Winter is coming. Being in a well lit workshop brings happiness.

In the bow end of the boat I have with the help of a laser marked the center.

To be continued…

Regards Yrvind.