I am fairly certain it will not require making a new case, but frustrating nonetheless. Good news is it goes into the mortices in the floor and doesn’t seem to impede centerboard operation. The twist is in the aft end of the case and most visible at the top. I will know it is there, but it should be possible to disguise.
I knew this was a possibility but hoped that any warp in the plywood would cancel out because the two halves are fiberglassed on opposing sides and glued to timber pieces. It still found a way to frustrate me.
I haven’t epoxied the outside of the case yet, is there any chance of removing some of the twist? If not I will live with it vs. re-doing.
Change of heart… I can’t live with the twist. I am trying to remove it with heat and moisture. I think I was able to improve it a little bit in a trial attempt by dampening the concave side of the case and clamping to the dining room table. I’ll try another round overnight before either ordering new parts from CLC or sourcing the lumber locally. I did not need another setback, but nothing to do now but persevere.
I think my mistake was waiting too long between fiberglassing the inside faces of the CB case sides and doing the final assembly. If I build it again I will do the assembly immediately after fiberglass and get the whole thing coated and into the boat asap before it can curl up on me.
Hi Aarron,
fwiw, flat pieces are perhaps one of the most challenging to build as on thinner pieces, any variation in moisture absorption by the outside plys will lead to differences in expansion and resulting ‘warping’.
when a piece is bent like in a kayak hull or plank of a lapstrake hull, the bending pressure typically easily exceeds the warping pressure and the piece looks just fine.
when i work with things that need to be flat i typically build them on a sturday flat table with weights to hold them flat. i will then, as as quickly as possible, glass each side to lock the moisture/shape in.
while storing flat pieces i will be careful ot keep weights on them to hold them flat until they are glassed or otherwise have their shape ‘fixed’.
h