Web frames are located at stations 5, 6, and 7 as shown on the Framing Plan. The web frames provide support for the ballast keel as well as the hydrostatic loads on the hull.

I'm laminating the port and starboard halves of the web frames from ten layers of 5.6 mm x 51 mm pine lattice molding for a final frame net dimension of 55 mm (molded) x 49 mm (sided). The centerline floor structure is the same as the half frames located between the web frames. The web frames will be attached to the deck beams with 18 mm thick brackets made from cut-offs from the floor gusset material. The first web frame to be made up is frame 5. I've allowed for 6 mm springback at the sheer and 1 mm springback at the keel. The laminating stock is long enough to extend beyond the sheer about 300 mm, and beyond the keel about 150 mm. This is so the ends, which tend to straighten out, can be cut off leaving a fair curve to the laminated frame.

I did a dry-fit of the first lamination to make sure I could lay up the frame in a reasonable amount of time before doing the final glue-up. The actual gluing and clamping took about a half hour, which is just about the working time of the Aero Marine epoxy I'm using. I mixed the epoxy with some silica thickener in a 2.5 quart container to keep it from "going off" too soon. The nice thing about epoxy is it hardens slowly so you have some time to finish the job as it starts to gel. I'm very happy with Aero Marine epoxy which is a fraction of the cost of WEST, System Three, or MAS epoxy.

I coat the face of each lamination with thickened epoxy on some sawhorses. Then I stack the laminates over waxed paper, and wrap the works with the waxed paper like a big burrito before pulling it into place and clamping it up. The waxed paper prevents epoxy from dripping on the loft floor and on the clamps. I always keep the loft floor covered in plastic to guard against any stray drips of epoxy, and it all stays pretty clean with the glue contained in the wax paper wrap.

I overcooked the springback a bit, and had to slide the laminated pieces around to get the best fit to the lofted frame line. I was able to get the port side to within 1 mm of the lofted line, but the starboard side will need a small piece added at the keel end of the frame to make up for too much springback correction.

There are 32 pieces of wood in each web frame. Every one of them had to be measured and cut individually, then the laminated pieces had to be trimmed and beveled. It takes me 4 - 6 weeks to make one web frame in my spare time.