Kevlar frenzy

Not too clear on the pictures but I added strips of 300 grs twill Aramid fiber on the frames which had the bigger gaps with hull sides. In my case , f53.5 and 169.5.

Most of the builders had this problem, maybe not on the same frames, but many chose to "sister" the frames with ply reinforcements.

For the fun of working with a different composite, I went with Aramid. It is probably one of the toughest things around and I think it could handle the job of holding those frames were they belong. Dont forget that all existing space had been previously filled up with epoxy/microfiber/silica putty. It is strong as steal !

But I have to add that working with that Aramid is not easy....First of all it is really difficult to cut. I tried everything I had at hand but nothing worked. So after asking for some advices on the forum I bought myself a pair of those really heavy duty scissors wich can cut metal sheet. I figured they would work. And yes indeed those shears worked fine.

Second, it is hard to laminate. The fiber I got is not a tape, its a big roll. So that I had to cut the tapes myself and those slippery aramid fibers seem to have a mind of their own wandering all over the place. So i used the technique described by some (Peter Ross, TReiter) and saturated those cutted strips of epoxy resin on top of a sheet of paint drop plastic. Then took the whole thing , with plastic film and all, right on the frames /hull junction, and used my plastic squeege to

laminate the aramid strips, plastic film up. Took the excess resin out, pulled the loose fiber strings along the strip, and let it cured. The next morning I removed the plastic film (comes out so easily its a joy !) and the trick was done with minimal mess. I have to admit however, that this is definitely not the cleanest fiber work I have ever done.

Just a quick explanation here : although I am a first time boat builder, I have had some previous experience with resin (polyester) making surfboards during my years in college. Good memories. So I am not scared of that mess.