--Originally Posted 1/27/08--

Development of the "combined-refit" type hurricane bow has begun with impressioning of the original, still in-progress prototype:

I was able to start this now - accelerating development of this part - by utilizing excess RTV rubber created in the course of other development work which currently has higher priority.

Note most of the bow is not immersed but instead liberally coated with RTV; repeated such applications will rapidly build up a thick, firm mold surface even before obtaining sufficient rubber to completely submerge the entire bow. At the same time, note all drips/runoff are captured in a temporary container (left); already creating a solid base (right) for the mold.

Eventually, the above aproach will allow for the remainder of a mold to be created by "back-filling" with lower-cost material - for example, cut-up chunks of old molds - essentially reducing the cost of materials for this mold to near zero! In this way, both time and materials are saved to enable starting more products development, sooner.

Cheers,

-Matty