Building CAN14678

Phil Locker

This boat was a first-time Fireball building project, starting with a hull shell supplied by Lifestyles in Toronto. It was completed over a 2 month period in the spring of 1998 using virtually every free evening and weekend.

While waiting for the hull shell to be built, I worked on the centreboard cap and thwart. Here's a shot of the building jig that I made.
3 layers of 4mm ply form the centreboard cap, and 4 layers are laminated for the thwart.
The finished product! I wanted a one-piece thwart and cap for strength, curving down low towards the mast step to make it easier for the crew to cross the boat.
The hull shell as delivered. Note the wooden blocks where I spec'd them in the tank sides (for attaching rigging). Hull, tanksides, trunk and fore/aft cockpit bulkheads are corecell laminated with E-glass and S-glass using vinylester resin. Kevlar is added at the stress points. Major bulkheads are tacked in place but require further gluing.
Adding a bulkhead in the front tank. By now a layer of 10mm corecell foam has been added to the flange encircling the hull, to build the gunwales up to minimum thickness.
Centreboard trunk cut to shape. The black seen inside the trunk is graphite that was mixed with the laminating resin. Note the tank sides have now been filleted in with epoxy.
Thwart and cap are now in place, and cardboard templates are being fitted to shape the tank bulkheads.
Tank bulkheads now fitted. Note they are doubled at the thwart and chainplate locations.
Ready for decking.
Following the structural layup of the Blanco fireballs, a lower level of ply is fitted around the cockpit. Among other benefits, this allows simple butt joints of the top layer of ply.
Gluing on the foredeck - you can never have too many clamps or sandbags!
Gluing on the sidedecks.
Decks are on and trimmed, mahogany gunwales have been added, and the boat is ready for clear-coat epoxy and UV protection.
Spinnaker bag holes have been cut, deck is clear-coated, sugar has been imbedded for grip along the gunwales, cockpit is painted, and most controls are fitted on the decks and centreboard cap.
READY TO GO SAILING!

	While waiting for the hull shell to be built, I worked on the centreboard cap and thwart. Here's a shot of the building jig that I made.
	3 layers of 4mm ply form the centreboard cap, and 4 layers are laminated for the thwart.
	The finished product! I wanted a one-piece thwart and cap for strength, curving down low towards the mast step to make it easier for the crew to cross the boat.
	The hull shell as delivered. Note the wooden blocks where I spec'd them in the tank sides (for attaching rigging). Hull, tanksides, trunk and fore/aft cockpit bulkheads are corecell laminated with E-glass and S-glass using vinylester resin. Kevlar is added at the stress points. Major bulkheads are tacked in place but require further gluing.
	Adding a bulkhead in the front tank. By now a layer of 10mm corecell foam has been added to the flange encircling the hull, to build the gunwales up to minimum thickness.
	Centreboard trunk cut to shape. The black seen inside the trunk is graphite that was mixed with the laminating resin. Note the tank sides have now been filleted in with epoxy.
	Thwart and cap are now in place, and cardboard templates are being fitted to shape the tank bulkheads.
	Tank bulkheads now fitted. Note they are doubled at the thwart and chainplate locations.
	Ready for decking.
	Following the structural layup of the Blanco fireballs, a lower level of ply is fitted around the cockpit. Among other benefits, this allows simple butt joints of the top layer of ply.
	Gluing on the foredeck - you can never have too many clamps or sandbags!
	Gluing on the sidedecks.
	Decks are on and trimmed, mahogany gunwales have been added, and the boat is ready for clear-coat epoxy and UV protection.
	Spinnaker bag holes have been cut, deck is clear-coated, sugar has been imbedded for grip along the gunwales, cockpit is painted, and most controls are fitted on the decks and centreboard cap.
	READY TO GO SAILING!