Boatbuilding has taken a back seat this month for a much more important project … the wedding of our youngest daughter, Haley. It was a terrific day and we are thrilled to have a new addition to the family, Sam.

Prior to the wedding we were able to complete the outboard motor mount and hull step which is fabricated on the inner side of each hull, and fiberglass the hull.

This assembly has three primary functions. It provides mount points for the auxiliary motors and is a step from the main saloon down into the hulls. It also stiffens the hulls and spreads the torque loads of the motors.

Fiberglassing was a big job. We chose to cut the 1m wide x 200 GSM roll into manageable 4.2m lengths for ease of handling. It was relatively stress free, and for once we were thankful for the cooler Tasmanian temperatures for giving us plenty of working time with the epoxy. We used a combination of squeegee’s and 115mm disposable mohair rollers to wet out the cloth.

The fiberglass is used in various ways. In some places it is bulked up in multiple layers to provide structural rigidity. In others its only a waterproof layer and has no structural purpose. The chines are all doubled up with fibreglass tape for abrasion resistance from ropes and lift-out slings. We were carefull to work exactly to the layouts specified in the plans. Potential stress points are well-known and accommodated for in the plans, with over a hundred of the Easy family of boats on the water.