Didi 950 Radius & Clean Workshops

Mike Vermeersch has completed the first layer of the radius panel on one side of his Didi 950 hull. Although the surface is not up to final level, the hull shape is now much clearer.

The skin will be trimmed back to centreline when the other side is fitted.

The front face of the forward bulkhead will have a wood capping.

In theses photos the radius skin has still to be trimmed back to hull centreline. When that is done, the shape of the forefoot as it fairs into the bow will become clear.

Nice overall view of the hull shape.

Clean and powerful stern sections.

Thanks to Mike for these great photos. A few people have commented about the cleanliness of Mike's project and also of his workshop. I like to work clean on my boatbuilding projects but Mike takes it to a whole new level. That might be due to his engineering background.

The benefits of working this way are many. A very important one is that it is much easier to clean up runs and drips of excess glue etc before it cures than to do it later. If a lump or run of epoxy or resorcinol is allowed to cure, it will be stronger than the surface of the wood and will rip out pieces of wood while you remove it with a chisel. You also need to thump the head of the chisel with a mallet or at least your hand, to move it along. Expect occasional bruising of the palm of your hand in the process. You can grind or sand it off mechanically but that is always with a risk of damaging the surface and the equipment cannot generally get into tight corners. You can more easily remove it with a slightly blunt chisel or a scraper soon after it reaches initial cure, without risk of surface damage. Resorcinol is really nice in this way because it becomes rubbery and can be easily and very cleanly sliced off. Epoxy will drag on the tool and not trim off as cleanly, so the natural tendency is to leave it for later when it is hard.

The other major benefits of a clean workshop are that it is just so much nicer to work in a clean environment and you are less likely to hurt yourself by standing on odd-shaped bits of wood, slipping on wood shavings or gluing your shoes to the floor. I generally sweep the work area about every 2nd day or more often if I am doing something that produces lots of dust or waste.

Please visit our website at http://dixdesign.com/ to see our very broad range of boat designs for both amateur and professional boatbuilders.