My boat needs uppgrades.
Babybars for the rack to be able to step out to outer tube with maximum beam setting.
Made of carbonfiber, aircraft aluminiumtube, glassfiber "rings" and Epoxy.
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First rings were made from glassfibre strips.
Tubes were painted with white primer and inside the ends about 4 cm were filled with epoxy for structural support.
Carbonfiber was used to connect the tubes to the rings 2 meters per connection. Carefully wrapped.
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Then a layer of glass was laid over the carbon and streching 15 cm onto the tube against torsional forces and to protect from wear and tear.
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Sanded and painted 3 times with 2-component marine paint, white at the ends and black in between.
White is better to keep the epoxy cool so it does not loose in strength in warm weather.
Black is for looks since all tubing on my boat is anodized black. Looks like magic wands (whitch it is)!
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Using a string to mark the edge of the antislip band.
I chose rubber 4mm thick since its supperior grip and low abrasibe effects. It is heavy weight but I am not racing in the one design class, hence going for safety and comfort.
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Since I will glue the rubber i place I mount it and mark the other edge to prepare for sanding and glue. Both rubber and painted tube will be sanded.
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Ready to sail! :-)
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It took time to clean away glue and tape residues.
And to make the bars move again. It is very difficult to not scratch the main tubes.
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A bonus is that the whole rack is stiffer with the babybars support.
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To lock the babybars in place I chose to tie it with a line between the boat and the outer rack, so it is foldable with just one bolt.
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The tubes are very light with so little material! And they hold easily for 170kg! I will come back for more news if someting breakes or so,
Cheers!
