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Cutting Acrylic Transom Flaps

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Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Cutting Acrylic Transom Flaps
    Posted: 01 Feb 13 at 5:31pm
Just finished the job today. In the end the best way to make them was to use a Stanley and snap pieces off until you have the rough shape. I then used a belt sander to round off all the corners that were left.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Feb 13 at 6:47am
Originally posted by winging it

I found a cut up ice cream tub was excellent - lightweight, easily fitted and you get to eat the ice cream first!

One of my other thoughts was to use polyethylene from for example a washing up bowl or one of those storage boxes.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sawman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jan 13 at 6:29pm
Originally posted by winging it

I found a cut up ice cream tub was excellent - lightweight, easily fitted and you get to eat the ice cream first!

I thought about that, but it would cost more in Ice cream than Lexan. Also, ice cream tubs are not usually clear, and the miracle is quite sensitive to fore/aft trim, so its useful to peer through the transom flaps from time to time
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Post Options Post Options   Quote winging it Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jan 13 at 5:55pm
I found a cut up ice cream tub was excellent - lightweight, easily fitted and you get to eat the ice cream first!
the same, but different...

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sawman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sawman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jan 13 at 5:22pm
I have just been down to bayplastics in newcastle http://www.bayplastics.co.uk/, and they are going to cut me a couple of flaps for a couple of quid - this should avoid any of the OP's troubles for me  


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Post Options Post Options   Quote Jack Sparrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jan 13 at 4:00pm
Plastic Direct LINK http://www.directplastics.co.uk/polycarbonate-sheet

with does it stick this in the code! (=%20)!!!!!

Edited by Jack Sparrow - 31 Jan 13 at 4:01pm
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sawman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sawman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jan 13 at 7:02am
cheers, the old flaps on my miracle are about 4 inches across. I am tempted to make a hinge with shockcord passing though, having seem a couple of pics on the net. 

There seems to be a huge supply of lexan in different thicknesses on ebay, at a reasonable cost compared to the pinbax item linked to earlier
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Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 10:17pm
I have 1.5mm and it is easily flexible enough to use without a hinge.
Having said that this is on an Albacore with some pretty big flaps. If they are small then I think 1mm might be better (in actual fact Guildford Marine do use 1mm for smaller flaps and 1.5mm for bigger ones)
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Post Options Post Options   Quote sawman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 7:05pm
I need to replace transom flaps at the moment - the current ones are very heavy and hinged. Is 1.5mm lexan flexible enough to be fixed without a hinge? 

I wondered if 1mm might be more flexible
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Post Options Post Options   Quote rb_stretch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Jan 13 at 5:21pm
Problem solved.
 
I needed to drop some fids I had borrowed from Guildford Marine and they basically said that Acrylic was a lost cause in the way I intended to use it ie. it would always be susceptible to shattering (as with the original flaps). They basically sold me an offcut of 1.5mm Lexan, which seems far more robust. Going to try and cut that with a stanley knife. The also sold me an offcut of aluminium keel band to hold the flaps against the hull on the inside edge.
 
Makes you realise you can't do everything through internet chandleries.
 
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