April 1-15th, 2000
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April, 2000
April has started and warmer weather approaches.
Attention is now focussed on the lift duct, its shrouding and the foam that will be placed around it. I conducted a little test using two small sheets of ply, some cardboard and some making tape. I added 6 tsp of foam mix and waited. A few minutes later the foam had filled the mold and risen out of the top. Success!
Even better was when I pulled it apart a day later (or at least tried to) the ply had stuck very strongly to the foam. This is good news as it will make for a strong structure when I encase the lift duct in it later this month.
The shroud finally looks finished. Well, its close... at least its ready for the foam filling, though the underside will need smoothing and filling in places.
Monday 10th April, 2000
More coating of the area near the lift duct with epoxy to make sure the wood is protected from rot.
Tuesday 11th April, 2000
Tonight we added the last two corner panels, completing the bottom of the hovercraft!!!
Wednesday 12th April, 2000
More epoxy coating, trying to get a good coverage around the duct.
Friday 14th April, 2000
Added cardboard and duct tape to the underside of the hull ready for foam pouring. Also recoated everything with epoxy to try to protect it against rot later. I then cut a sheet of expanded polystyrene into sections to fill the front and glue them together with spraycan foam. We also used a little water spray to assist curing.
Saturday 15th April, 2000
Removed the white foam section, now glued into one piece and sprayed the front with more spraycan foam to glue the foam in place. Pushed the section into place. Finished adding the cardboard mold around the duct and sticking it into place with duct tape. Maybe this is what they named it after...
Then I mixed up small batches of the two-part rigid urethane foam and poured it into the mold. To fill out some of the bulk, I added the offcuts of expanded white foam around the outside. This turned out to be a good idea as I had just enough to finish the job. Took all day mind, with all the mixing and watching it expand... then running about sealing the leaks.. One hint here is not to try to use duct tape when wearing latex gloves. Unless you have a real wierd sense of humor.
