Early flip

I am stoked !

For whatever reason, I was not too sure my keel box and keel set up was perfectly aligned. I had this worry in the back of my head since I had finished the keel box.

So I wanted to check everything before gluing the monoblock cockpit sole. Indeed, in case the keel box had to be redone, it would be much better to rebuild it now than after having the cockpit epoxied on. Since I am building the long cockpit version, my cockpit sole will actually be supported by and glued to the keel box top.

So anyways, got a bunch of guys together and flipped the boat. First good surprise is that from what I can tell the hull and sides look good. The V is there all the way to the bow, the side panels are pretty much flat with no hollow parts and the hull bottom has a nice continous curve from stern to stem.

Then the really good news came in a while after. I slided the keel in the keel sleeve from the hull bottom (which was up) and came to the conclusion that....................the whole thing is pretty much perfectly aligned !

The keel protruded straight upwards and seemed to be symetric from all angles. What a great sight ! And here is the proof that I am a happy camper today. Building this i550 has really been an enjoyable adventure. Can't wait for the sailing part of it !

Now that I know my keel box is all good, I will move faster than before and glue the cockpit sole until next weekend. Still have minor issues to solve regarding all the hardware reinforcement plates i am placing underneath it.

Although everything was pretty much good news today, I found out a spot on the hull bottom where the plywood is delaminating. Looks like only the last layer is popping up. Should be easy to fix.

Its a bugger but I will not loose much sleep over it........at least certainly not as much as I did before being sure my keel assembly was ok !