Year Three Week 4
I had a lot of trouble during this month with heat. There were a bunch of days over 90 and I was pretty much finished by 1030 or 1100. I started picking away at the cockpit, grinding out cracks and filling holes that were not going to be used. I also started on the tank, it needed to be fastened down.
Here are some holes that need to be filled with drool strips underneath. I start with fiberglassing a piece behind the hole first. I use polyester resin on all of this, way faster then epoxy.
Cockpit holes
Here is a pic on the tank in place with the floor beams in. This is how I left it for the summer, it is not fastened down. The plastic is over the hatch opening, the hatch has almost all the fittings on it.
Fuel Tank
A friend down the way reinstalled an older fuel tank ( 45 years older). Before he did so he pressured tested it for leaks. I started thinking about this and realized I was going to have to test this homemade tank of mine. I put the hatch lid on with all the holes plugged except one and I put a valve stem on it.
Air valve stem
I then took the tank out and put low pressure on it with a bicycle pump. Much to my disgust after soaping I discovered a couple of little bubbles. I pulled the tank out and refiberglassed the edges around the top. This took a while, I could only do one edge a day while waiting for the epoxy to set up.
Another week gone, moving a little slow. Looking forward to cooler weather