As CB has reported, I'm about to cast a bulb for each of our Emmas.
I'm doing it the Irene method, which how I've been doing it the past two years, but casting two halves that will be fixed both sides of the keel and secured with screws or thin bolts.

In our eagerness to cut out the two keel both CB and I forgot that we were going to widen the foot of the keel somewhat like an Irene to facilitate the fixing of these two halves. It wont really matter but we would have preferred some more area to attach it to.

Anyway, today I made up a slug (3D pattern) out of scrap balsa. Balsa because it is easy to build up with and shape. I just keep super gluing any thickness together, rather roughly, until, with sanding, it takes on the desired shape. I fill in any spaces with more slivers of balsa until it's reasonable smooth. I few imperfections is not an issue as the final cast lead will be "finished" off anyway.
The completed slug is going to be surely a bit oversized that is by design since it's easier to remove excess lead off the flat sides.
It measures 180 x 50 x60 mm
Will lbe interesting to see how our math worked out on the first half casting.
I will be doing the casting solo, simply so I can keep my attention focused on the job and stay out of trouble. All safety gear will be employed.
As Gary says, it is very hazardous stuff. If you are unsure, don't even attempt it, there are other ways of doing it without casting.

I've made the blocks from brush handle wood as in Gary's video.
The drill size is tiny and I found that a 1 inch piece of stainless 1/32" wire made a good drill bit using the snipped end.
For the wire strap I'm using the multi-strand stainless steel leader material from Eagle Claw fishing tackle Heavy Duty Leaders 45 pound. It has worked fine on my other blocks.

As to the ballast bulb, some may be uncomfortable with the idea of heating and pouring lead (for good reason). I tried another way for a smaller boat with good success. PC-7 epoxy paste was mixed with lead shot (mine was 1/8 inch diameter hemispheres) and packed into a simple wood mold. The fin was then pushed into the stuff. It takes overnight to harden. The bulb was then filed to rough shape and covered with a thin coat of PC-7, sanded, and painted. Since it's less dense than solid lead it will be a bit bigger but not to worry.

Hello all you Emma builders.
I've just started on a build of this lovely little boat-I cut out the bulkheads this week.
Any advice for a beginner would be very welcome !

Originally Posted by Tango22

Hello all you Emma builders.
I've just started on a build of this lovely little boat-I cut out the bulkheads this week.
Any advice for a beginner would be very welcome !

Hi Tango22,
Happy to know you have started building. If you come up with questions, post them here and you are bound to receive advice. The crowd here on the forum has been a great bunch. We'd love to see some photos as your project moves along.
Cheers, Gary

Thanks, Gary - I'll keep in touch.

Made my blocks, made my booms, but didn't assemble them together before gluing everything.
I'll make two more blocks.
Oops, Paul

Greetings, I built the rudder and will redo it. Oops
I used brass because I had some and silver-soldered it together. Then the 1/8 inch plywood was fitted and layered both sides with 1/16 inch balsa. I used Gorilla Glue, laid the assembly on waxed paper, covered it with waxed paper, and clamped between pieces of wood.
It's a mess. Some of the balsa moved and gaps filled with urethane foam. If I'd used epoxy or epoxy paste it would have been fine. Now I'll cut and grind the wood and glue away and rebuild.
Your Gorilla Glue Newbie, Paul

Tearing this apart the glue hardly held to the metal. Another oops

Balsa is best not used in rudders. Should moisture get in around the rudder shaft, in time, it opens up and generally destroys the rudder.
Use 6ply 4mm model ply and don't bother about foil profiles, flat is functional enough.. You can use 30 minutes epoxy to glue in the shaft but there is glue around called epoxy steel that does a long term job.

Because there was only a slight breeze we still went ahead, even though the sails barely filled out at times, it gave us a chance to inspect the boat positioning on the water. It also predicts that tomorrow's race day debut will be more active and interesting as both boats were very close matched in today's very mild conditions. So, what will happen when they lift their respective skirts ?, Stay tuned.

Originally Posted by robcrusoe

Balsa is best not used in rudders. Should moisture get in around th erudder shaf\t, in time, it opens up and generally destroys the rudder.
Use 6ply 4mm model ply and don't bother about foil profiles, flat is functional enough.. You can use 30 minutes epoxy to glue in th eshaft but there is glue around called epoxy steel that does a long term job.

All my rudders are balsa, covered with a layer of fiberglass cloth and resin. No problems ever.

Sorry, but I did say "best", not, "never", as a caution. Your method is certainly practical but also not easy for a novice FG user. The finish and durability of yours would be significantly better.

Maybe the traveler could be a bolt with a self-locking nut. This would allow quick sheeting, the bowline knot could be glued and left alone.
I doubt I'd get it tied "just right" over and over.

Merry Christmas, everybody! Paul

The traveler connection needs to be very light and as friction free as possible to allow the booms to swing right over in very light conditions. These is very evident as soon as you put your new boat on the water and under way. I'm using a brass tube (with SS inner rod) although I doubt it has any real advantage other than maybe appearances. But for general cruising Gary's method and construction seems to me to be fine, once you set the respective booms then in this boat particularly, you should never need to make any adjustments.
What I'm doing is leaving a couple of inches or so of cord hanging loose after the loop is in place (it won’t get in the way, even if looking a bit "odd") and use a pin to open the knot to make any further adjustments. Then trim it off, or hitch to the sheet above the bar but before the block.
If the Emma continues to sail anything like the Irene then the amount of sheet travel, and the boom positions most of the time, makes very little difference.
Gary can best explain this, as he has to me, but right now I think he must be away loading Sparkle up with Christmas gifts for his Mexican friends as he has gone very quiet.

Originally Posted by glidin'n'slidin'

Maybe the traveler could be a bolt with a self-locking nut. This would allow quick sheeting, the bowline knot could be glued and left alone.
I doubt I'd get it tied "just right" over and over.

Nice idea Paul, I reckon you will need to make such a bolt, but that surely would make for easy set up.
I manage to tie "just right" each time with help from an ink mark on the line.

With about 10 knots the ladies really got right down and into it.

Can't wait for heavier going, they will definitely handle twice that. (He thinks )

BearOSpace rc sloop Emmas in first match racing down under. (4 min 14 sec)

We both agree, sailing as a duo beats the heck out of solo, so when building, try to interest a sailing partner.

And yes, we are working on those sail creases. and yes, the video is bit jerky, hard to manage both at once, but.