I needed a cradle for the hull of my woodie Star 45 under construction, to hold the hull while I fair the gunnels to the frames in preparation for installation of the deck and while I design and install the controls (keel is not on yet).
Well, the easiest way to make a perfect cradle is by using the holes (which are left in the John Fisher lasercut frame sheets after removal of the lasercut frames, to trace the exact shapes of the outsides of frames 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 onto 3/8' thick plywood. Allow for the thickness of planking and carpeting by drawing a second trace for each frame so that the hole for the hull is 3/8' bigger everywhere than the frame. Then cut out each second trace as the inside of a frame for a cradle. Mount the cradle frames on a 2'X4' piece of particle board, using the spacing of the balsa template included in the frames kit, and using a try square to get them vertical, and making sure that they are all on the same longitudinal center and all parallel. Then hot glue 1' wide strips of carpeting to the insides of the cradle frames. Voila! A perfect hull cradle. I took some photos and will email them this weekend.
Best,
Phil Geren"
Star45 : Message: The Perfect Cradle: "
Here are the hull cradle fotos I promised you.
Your shadow invention is so useful. The holes left in the plywood sheets after punching out the frames were used as templates to draw perfect frames for a cradle to hold the hull for completion of the construction (before keel installation).
Thanks so much!
Best regards,
Phil Geren"
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