Blue Splash, Building Blog; Part One

After examining the kit parts and instructions, the first order of business is to assemble the keel box. After lightly sanding the contact surfaces, 15 minute epoxy was used along with some small clamps. To keep the box the right width, and glue from seeping in, Eric recommends wrapping the fin in clear packing tape and inserting in it into the box. See the pictures of this process below:

The tube forward the box is the mast step for traditional rig. Since I'm going to be using a swing rig, I removed it, however, the resulting flange is just to small, and repeatedly cracked apart upon inserting the fin. It took a lot of grief and some extra fiberglass reinforcement to remedy. Probably better to leave it attached, but it complicates the swing rig mast step...I suggested to Eric that he make a swing rig version with a larger flange. In any event, this joint can be problematic, so if you trim it, be sure to reinforce it with a extra layer of glass & epoxy!