Picked up another project. This Exeter was previously constructed for a private club and not built to any specific rule set. Most recently it was used as a target ship. Time to breath some new life into it. I got the old balsa ripped off and left over internals ripped out. As you can see, some significant cutting will need to be done to get her 85% penetrable. I typically prefer 1/4" ribs on smaller boats but since the original builder did something slightly over 3/8" I'll base it around that. Lucky for me the original builder also left a ton of hard material along the upper edge in the bow which will allow me to easily include a stringer. All cut up except there is technically one 3/8" rib too many. Instead of cutting one rib completely out I decided to reduce 3 ribs per side down to 1/4"(not yet pictured). Next I choose to address the deck. As an original Strike models kit it has the deck inserts which I like. There is some slight water damage so I sanded off all the old paint to get to the original wood and from there I will apply West Systems to reseal the deck. The deck inserts will probably need to be replaced since they are severely warped and cracked. On the side I've also been working on modelling some new turrets for her in Fusion 360. Still some work to go, but mostly done.
Small update. Original subdeck had a few areas where it was separating from the fiberglass hull, got that epoxied. Also got the a layer of West Systems applied to the underside of the subdeck, will do the topside tomorrow. Printed the new dummy turrets on my new CR-10s. Tried out Tough PLA by Matterhackers. Haven't done any testing yet but if I want to I can also put the turrets in the oven and anneal them for advertised toughness approaching ABS.
