[quote=southstars2012][quote]As to reinforcing the beam connections, there are a couple options. The best is likely to go into the rear beam from the aft hull hatch and add a layer of carbon or two around the aluminum block in that location. Then scuff the beam at the joint and use a thickened epoxy (West Systems mixed with cabosil to peanut butter consistency, or Hysol or T-88) to fill the beam pocket and literally bond the beam to the hull. Do the same at the front.
Many of the pro boats had beaded beams, I'm not sure if they were fully bonded. The downside to a full bonded beam is now you can't take the platform apart easily (you can still heat the aluminum to a high temp and get it to pop), but it makes for a much stiffer overall boat![/quote]
Thanks - will take a look through the aft hull hatch to see what we can work on & reinforce under the rear beam. Seems hard given how small the hatch is, but your idea makes sense.
I don't think we're actually going to bond the beam into the joint - we'll try to bed the beam tight with thickened epoxy to fill in gaps in the beam joint, but use mold release so the beam will still pop out after the epoxy cures. At least that's the plan (I found a good example of this on the Team Seacats blog dating from 2006).
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I-20
Sausalito<!-- editby --><em>Edited by southstars2012 on Jan 31, 2017 - 06:47 AM.</em><!-- end editby --> [/quote]
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