By Hal Kelly

T HIS STABLE little sailboat, with a

bottom like a power cat, is fast, light,
easy to build and unsinkable. The con-
cave bottom gives her firm footing, a lot
of load carrying ability and little ten-
dency to heel in an average breeze. The
superior flotation makes her float high
enough so that, with her centerboard up,
she can handle very shallow water
while skimming along.
Though 14' long and with a beam of
6', she weighs only about 200 pounds.
This, and her safe non-sinking ability,
are a result of planking with 1/2" Rigicell,
•mi
a new foam-type material made by
Shelton, Conn., branch of B. F. Goodrich HOMEMADE lamp of heating element in re-
Sponge Products. The stuff can be cut flector is sufficient to set curve of bottom.

March, 81
Unsinkable Uniboat
DECK is removed after fitting, propped up
for taping of seams and glassing underside.
BACK in shop, deck is refitted and fast-
ened. Top surface is then fiberglassed.
and trim-fitted with a razor blade, and
is held in place with toothpicks during
construction. A final covering of fiber-
glass and resin inside and out gives it a
strong hard surface.
Construct the frame jig on which to
build the craft from two 15' 2x4's on a
level surface with 2x4 cross members
positioned and fastened at each station.
Ribs # 3 , #4, and #5 will have a 12°
slant. Cut this same angle in the cross
beams at the corresponding stations.
Ribs are cut from a 4'x8' sheet of 1/4"
exterior grade plywood. The transom
plus ribs # 3 , # 4 , and #5 are the same
size and can be temporarily fastened to-
82
HULL is removed from jig and battens to
support decking are installed and fastened.
DEPRESSIONS from nailing Rigicell are
filled and finish coat of tinted resin applied.
gether and cut as a unit with a saber
saw. The transom remains solid, but the
ribs have lightening holes cut in them as
shown in the plan. These, too, can be cut
as one unit. Rib #2 is smaller but simi-
lar in shape. The bow piece is solid.
Ribs, bow piece and transom are now
positioned on the jig, clamped in place
in the case of # 3 , # 4 , #5 and transom
until the 12° slant is checked, and then
temporarily nailed or screwed to the
cross members.
Battens are cut from three pieces of
1"xl2" cedar 14' long. All battens are
3/4" square except the center battens for
[Continued on page 102]
Mechanix Illustrated
Unsinkable Uniboat
[Continued jrom page 82]
the bottom and the deck. These are
3/4"x2". Where the battens fit into the
slots in the ribs, glue and nail small
blocks 3/4" square and 1-1/2" long
to the ribs. After the blocks have been
faired off even with the edges of the
slots, the battens can be fitted. Secure
them to the ribs and blocks with Weld-
wood Plastic Resin glue and 1-1/4" #12
boat nails.
Planking with Rigicell starts at the
transom. Where the sheets butt, the
edges can be cut at a 45° angle with fine-
tooth cross cut blade on a table saw, or
even with a razor blade. These butt
joints overlap 1/2"and are held in place
with round toothpicks every three
inches. Epoxy resin can be used to ce-
ment the joints.
Two 4' wide sheets of Rigicell about
5' long are positioned across the hull for
initial fitting. Once secured they can
later be trimmed with a razor blade.
Apply epoxy resin to ribs and battens
before fastening the planking sheets.
Nail them in place with 7/8" roofing nails.
The large heads will not pull through.
The forward part of the bottom can
be covered with two full length sheets
6' long by 3' wide. The bow section has
a slight compound curve which is easily
COMPLETED hull minus decking shows in-
terior structural members, curve of bottom.
102
handled by this material. Heat it before
forming. A round heater element
screwed into a light socket with a photo
reflector can supply sufficient heat.
The sides are easily planked with 4'x6'
sheets cut in half lengthwise. These are
angle-butted and cemented with epoxy
resin just as with the bottom. I experi-
mented with small fin keels similar to
leeboards at the bottom of each side.
Though not really necessary, I found I
could sail without using the centerboard
unless I was beating to windward.
After the edges of the bottom and side
planking have been carefully trimmed,
polyester resin is applied to the bottom
and allowed to harden. Next, a length
of 8 oz. fiberglass 38" wide is stretched
down the center of the bottom. It will
overlap each side about 6". Transom and
bow are also covered by it and it is
trimmed to fit. Remove the cloth, apply
a coat of resin to the bottom with a
brush, and then reposition the cloth in
the wet resin. More resin is now squee-
geed through the cloth and all air
bubbles are worked out. Lengths of
fiberglass cloth from a sheet cut in half
are applied to each side in the same way.
They will overlap the bottom fabric
slightly.
Now the hull is removed from the jig,
after the fiberglass has cured and hard-
ened, and positioned right side up on a
level floor. Use shoring blocks beneath
the bottom if you have added the keel
fins so that they do not touch the floor.
The inside of the boat is now fiberglassed
as well, a somewhat messy job, since
small pieces of fiberglass are pasted be-
tween the ribs and battens. Exact fit is
not necessary, and the fabric should be
allowed to extend up the ribs to inte-
grate the planking with the ribs and
battens and further strengthen the craft.
A brush and squeegee can be used to
push the fabric scraps into position. If
washed with a strong detergent soap
before the resin hardens, the brush and
squeege can be salvaged for further use.
Mast supports are next fastened in
place, rudder and centerboard are cut
from 1/2" exterior plywood, and the cen-
terboard well is finished off at the deck.
Since the centerboard will bear consid-
erable strain, it is well to fiberglass this
board as well as the centerboard trunk.
Mechanix Illustrated
March, 103
104 Mechanix Illustrated
 glassed, or the boat may be painted after
Unsinkable Uniboat completion. I used Flexion, from Flex-
ion Polymer Coatings, Ft. Pierce, Fla.
This white paint requires universal pig-
ment for colors but adheres well and
requires no undercoating.
Deck hardware is next installed as
shown in the plans. All fittings, as well
as the self-locking kick-up rudder hard-
ware, are available through Wilcox-
Crittenden outlets. Tiller handle.and the
cockpit trim are cut from a 14' length of
1-1/8x3" cedar, the cockpit trim installed
and the tiller rounded.
Spars consist of a wood mast and alu-
minum sail frame. Use 1-5/8" round oak
for the mast. Fir is not strong enough.
The aluminum 1" tubing is 14' long for
the gaff and 13' for the boom.
The sail as shown, and available from
Hard Sails, Islip, New York, is the right
size for beginners and will provide a
good turn of speed. Expert sailors can
CENTERBOARD well must be carefully increase this sail area by 50 percent be-
made, all surfaces luted to prevent leaks. cause of the innate stability of the craft.
Trailering the craft is easy. Add lift-
ing handles bow and stern if the boat
To form the decking, 4'x6' planking will be carried cartop. An outboard
sheets are laid across the hull. Since the plank or bracket is also easy to install
craft is six feet wide, the sections fit on the transom, and worthwhile. When
without waste. Joints are butted as be- the wind drops, a light 3-1/2 hp aircooled
fore, with toothpicks holding the angled Chrysler outboard has been found to
overlap together until the epoxy hard- push her along at a respectable 8 miles
ens. Sections must be cut out, of course, an hour. •
for the cockpit, centerboard well and
mast. A 3" wide glass cloth tape is ap-
plied with epoxy resin over all seams.
When the epoxy has hardened, lift the
decking carefully and place it on a flat
surface, propped up so that it can hold
its slightly curved shape. Apply resin
and fiberglass cloth to the underside of
the deck.
Once the deck undercoating has hard-
ened, apply epoxy resin to all battens
and ribs and replace the deck in posi-
tion. Then nail it securely to all framing
and battens. Glass cloth and polyester
resin are applied over the complete
decking. When it has hardened into
place, the glass is carefully trimmed
around the cockpit and edges. These
edges are then bound with 3" glass cloth
tape and epoxied completely around the
edge of the deck and the cockpit.
Color can be mixed in with the resin
when the hull and decking are fiber-
Mechanix Illustrated