Got your attention? I got a late start tonight as I worked late and as such I wasn't able to get much done. I made a trip to Home Depot to get sandpaper, pipe joints and four very large and heavy tools. I'm not going to share what they are until tomorrow when they get used, but they might be worth a laugh!
I did get a couple small details done before big work tomorrow. First I made a batch of epoxy and used that epoxy to paint the edges of the deck panels that I missed yesterday plus recoating the knots in the wood that needed a second coat. I also used the epoxy to coat the ends and sides of the support strips I epoxied in the hull last night. And I used what was left to coat the insides of the holes for the conduits in the bulkheads.
Tomorrow will be a busy day. I plan on getting both the cuddy and cabin decks laid down, conduit installed, the front bulkhead panel installed and touch up painting done, blocking for the rear bulkhead, and on and on and on... :-)
1.5 Hours
Friday, January 13, 2012
Day 108 - More decking work
More deck work and painting tonight. I decided it was time to get working in the cuddy, so some decisions got made.
There's going to be a porta-potty on this boat, but finding a home for it has been proving difficult. Originally I was going to put it on the starboard side just in front of the bulkhead, but after a mockup and some measurements that clearly wasn't going to provide enough headroom, so back to the drawing board. Too, I was originally going to run a deck side-to-side at the top of the stringers, but that height still was too high. So I decided to lower the deck between the stringers. Now this is no mean feat as the hull is curving upwards at this point and a sloped floor was no good either!
So to get a level deck low enough so that the top of the porta-potty would be below the level of the bunks meant that the deck would have to be cut with a curve to meet the curve of the hull. When I get it installed and some pictures taken it will be clearer than this, but suffice it to say I spent a lot of time working this out.
Next up was to cut center supports for the decking in both the cuddy and the cabin. With 1/2" plywood spanning 27" in the cuddy and 3/4" ply spanning 30" in the cabin there needs to be support running up the hull centerline. I cut holes in the decks for access plates and then cut strips of plywood the correct height and length to run the distance, but skip the plates. I'd come back later to epoxy these in because I needed to do some painting.
But before painting I needed to sand the hull where I would be applying epoxy and then swept and vacuumed up all the sawdust.
It's supposed to blow hard the next couple days which is ideal for when I'm painting with the Bilgekote. Because the wind moves the shed around and since the shed isn't airtight, the wind actually causes the shed to breath and that helps clear the air.
I pulled out the Bilgekote and painted the bilge area on the sides in the cabin. I got about a quarter of the way done when it would normally be time to quit, but I kept working right on through. Time consuming work painting all those surfaces! After this paint dries I'll be able to install the conduit and some closed cell foam where it will fit and I'll be able to drop the decking in place until I can permanently fasten it down.
Next was epoxying. I mixed up a large batch of epoxy and liberally coated the bottom sides of the cuddy and cabin decks. Most of the left over I turned into peanut butter and then starting at the front of the cuddy I painted epoxy on the bottom (that had been sanded earlier) and epoxy on the bottom edges of the plywood strips. I put a thick strip of peanut butter on the plywood and then pushed it down onto the hull. After the two strips in the cuddy I did the two strips in the cabin and as it worked out I had made exactly the right amount of epoxy!
With that I cleaned up and headed home.
Been a long night and I'm pooped. Supposed to get cold the next three days, below zero temp. Should be interesting to see how warm I can keep the shed.
5 Hours
There's going to be a porta-potty on this boat, but finding a home for it has been proving difficult. Originally I was going to put it on the starboard side just in front of the bulkhead, but after a mockup and some measurements that clearly wasn't going to provide enough headroom, so back to the drawing board. Too, I was originally going to run a deck side-to-side at the top of the stringers, but that height still was too high. So I decided to lower the deck between the stringers. Now this is no mean feat as the hull is curving upwards at this point and a sloped floor was no good either!
So to get a level deck low enough so that the top of the porta-potty would be below the level of the bunks meant that the deck would have to be cut with a curve to meet the curve of the hull. When I get it installed and some pictures taken it will be clearer than this, but suffice it to say I spent a lot of time working this out.
Next up was to cut center supports for the decking in both the cuddy and the cabin. With 1/2" plywood spanning 27" in the cuddy and 3/4" ply spanning 30" in the cabin there needs to be support running up the hull centerline. I cut holes in the decks for access plates and then cut strips of plywood the correct height and length to run the distance, but skip the plates. I'd come back later to epoxy these in because I needed to do some painting.
But before painting I needed to sand the hull where I would be applying epoxy and then swept and vacuumed up all the sawdust.
It's supposed to blow hard the next couple days which is ideal for when I'm painting with the Bilgekote. Because the wind moves the shed around and since the shed isn't airtight, the wind actually causes the shed to breath and that helps clear the air.
I pulled out the Bilgekote and painted the bilge area on the sides in the cabin. I got about a quarter of the way done when it would normally be time to quit, but I kept working right on through. Time consuming work painting all those surfaces! After this paint dries I'll be able to install the conduit and some closed cell foam where it will fit and I'll be able to drop the decking in place until I can permanently fasten it down.
Next was epoxying. I mixed up a large batch of epoxy and liberally coated the bottom sides of the cuddy and cabin decks. Most of the left over I turned into peanut butter and then starting at the front of the cuddy I painted epoxy on the bottom (that had been sanded earlier) and epoxy on the bottom edges of the plywood strips. I put a thick strip of peanut butter on the plywood and then pushed it down onto the hull. After the two strips in the cuddy I did the two strips in the cabin and as it worked out I had made exactly the right amount of epoxy!
With that I cleaned up and headed home.
Been a long night and I'm pooped. Supposed to get cold the next three days, below zero temp. Should be interesting to see how warm I can keep the shed.
5 Hours
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Day 107 - Decks going down
I'm procrastinating on the cuddy work. Part of it is that it's going to be a royal pain, part of it is I'm still working out details and I'm afraid to start before I've got it down pat.
But that doesn't mean I didn't get anything done. I've been really frustrated with not having any decks down in the hull so I spent the evening working on that.
I ripped a sheet of 3/4" plywood in half, making the cut at 21 degrees to match the angle of the hull and then cut the two sheets to about seven feet. Each one was butted up against the forward bulkhead on top of the ribs, scribed to match the hull and cut again at 21 degrees. I then drew a line under the deck against the stringer and cut that edge. And finally with both side decks in place I took a line from the shelves where I want the rear bulkhead to be and cut the decks to length.
Next up was the decking between the stringers. In the cabin the deck will sit below next to the hull between the stringers to allow for a lower roofline while keeping the interior height. I'm 6' 3" and there will be no stooping in my cabin!
Fortunately the stringers are exactly the same distance apart, 30 1/4", the length of the hull so I cut another piece of 3/4" ply to width and approximate length, rounded the forward corners to fit the fillet at the forward blocking and laid it in. I took the line off the decking over the ribs and cut it to length.
The last thing I did was cut eight pieces of 2x4 10" in length. My plan was (you'll notice past tense) was to epoxy those 2x4s to the hull to attach brackets to. I was planning on strapping the tanks down by running straps over the top of the tank, down the side, through slots in the decking, through the brackets, back up through slots and connecting to the other end of the strap.
On the way home I realized what a poor plan that was. Instead I'm going to put those brackets on the decking, through bolting the brackets to the decking and running the straps through a bracket, over the tank, through the other bracket, back over the tank to the other end of the strap. A much simpler system that eliminates the holes in the decking and trying to epoxy the 2x4s to an already unevenly fiberglassed hull from the woven roving.
Now all this decking wonderfullness can't be installed just yet as there are more things to do to prepare for it, but it felt good to get them done none the less!
3 Hours
But that doesn't mean I didn't get anything done. I've been really frustrated with not having any decks down in the hull so I spent the evening working on that.
I ripped a sheet of 3/4" plywood in half, making the cut at 21 degrees to match the angle of the hull and then cut the two sheets to about seven feet. Each one was butted up against the forward bulkhead on top of the ribs, scribed to match the hull and cut again at 21 degrees. I then drew a line under the deck against the stringer and cut that edge. And finally with both side decks in place I took a line from the shelves where I want the rear bulkhead to be and cut the decks to length.
Next up was the decking between the stringers. In the cabin the deck will sit below next to the hull between the stringers to allow for a lower roofline while keeping the interior height. I'm 6' 3" and there will be no stooping in my cabin!
Fortunately the stringers are exactly the same distance apart, 30 1/4", the length of the hull so I cut another piece of 3/4" ply to width and approximate length, rounded the forward corners to fit the fillet at the forward blocking and laid it in. I took the line off the decking over the ribs and cut it to length.
The last thing I did was cut eight pieces of 2x4 10" in length. My plan was (you'll notice past tense) was to epoxy those 2x4s to the hull to attach brackets to. I was planning on strapping the tanks down by running straps over the top of the tank, down the side, through slots in the decking, through the brackets, back up through slots and connecting to the other end of the strap.
On the way home I realized what a poor plan that was. Instead I'm going to put those brackets on the decking, through bolting the brackets to the decking and running the straps through a bracket, over the tank, through the other bracket, back over the tank to the other end of the strap. A much simpler system that eliminates the holes in the decking and trying to epoxy the 2x4s to an already unevenly fiberglassed hull from the woven roving.
Now all this decking wonderfullness can't be installed just yet as there are more things to do to prepare for it, but it felt good to get them done none the less!
3 Hours
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Day 106 - She's got pipes!
Or PVC at least. :-)
Tonight was continuing work on the PVC conduits and forward bulkhead. I started the night by trimming the excess fiberglass from last night, knocking off the last of the peanut butter drips and then sanding smooth the tops of the ribs and the stringers. A good vacuuming and that was done.
Next up was the PVC pipes. I was anxious to see just how well the holes lined up and if my planning for the elbows to vertical risers would work out. When Caitlin and Kenneth drilled the holes in the ribs they were using hole saws 1/8" larger than the actual pipe diameter. I did this intentionally to allow for a little wiggle room and it was a good thing I did because it was needed.
Now the cabin is longer than the rear deck so the PVC had to be cut short of the cabin length to fit in the holes starting at the rear. This leaves a joint in between the ribs which is fine, I just had to measure correctly for it. I cut the PVC to fit under the deck, contemplated for a couple minutes how tall I wanted the vertical risers and cut them too. Hauled everything into the hull and started putting the PVC through the holes in the ribs. They were obviously not perfectly lined up, but the extra space plus the flex in the PVC allowed me to get them through. I dry fitted the elbows and then the risers and Woo Hoo! it all fits!
Up next was the blocking to go between the stringers under the forward bulkhead. I cut and trimmed a piece of 1-1/8" plywood, sanded the hull, applied epoxy, peanut butter and 10oz fiberglass to the rear side, including the joint between the blocking and the bulkhead, and repeated that on the front side except for the bulkhead joint as there's no way to get to it with the PVC running underneath.
I bought some Silicone tonight to use to seal around the PVC risers where they come up through the 2x4 for the bulkhead and I used some right away around the PVC that runs under the bulkhead.
Last for the night I used what was left of the epoxy to coat the insides of the holes for the PVC pipes after pulling them all apart. They'll get reinstalled permanently after blocking is installed for the tank tie-downs and this area of the bilge gets a good coat of stinky Bilgekote paint!
Tomorrow I need to cut the decking to fit over the ribs to protect that area until I get back to it, apply fiberglass to the rear of the forward bulkhead and then start work in the cuddy. Much work to be done there!
4.5 Hours
Tonight was continuing work on the PVC conduits and forward bulkhead. I started the night by trimming the excess fiberglass from last night, knocking off the last of the peanut butter drips and then sanding smooth the tops of the ribs and the stringers. A good vacuuming and that was done.
Next up was the PVC pipes. I was anxious to see just how well the holes lined up and if my planning for the elbows to vertical risers would work out. When Caitlin and Kenneth drilled the holes in the ribs they were using hole saws 1/8" larger than the actual pipe diameter. I did this intentionally to allow for a little wiggle room and it was a good thing I did because it was needed.
Now the cabin is longer than the rear deck so the PVC had to be cut short of the cabin length to fit in the holes starting at the rear. This leaves a joint in between the ribs which is fine, I just had to measure correctly for it. I cut the PVC to fit under the deck, contemplated for a couple minutes how tall I wanted the vertical risers and cut them too. Hauled everything into the hull and started putting the PVC through the holes in the ribs. They were obviously not perfectly lined up, but the extra space plus the flex in the PVC allowed me to get them through. I dry fitted the elbows and then the risers and Woo Hoo! it all fits!
Up next was the blocking to go between the stringers under the forward bulkhead. I cut and trimmed a piece of 1-1/8" plywood, sanded the hull, applied epoxy, peanut butter and 10oz fiberglass to the rear side, including the joint between the blocking and the bulkhead, and repeated that on the front side except for the bulkhead joint as there's no way to get to it with the PVC running underneath.
I bought some Silicone tonight to use to seal around the PVC risers where they come up through the 2x4 for the bulkhead and I used some right away around the PVC that runs under the bulkhead.
Last for the night I used what was left of the epoxy to coat the insides of the holes for the PVC pipes after pulling them all apart. They'll get reinstalled permanently after blocking is installed for the tank tie-downs and this area of the bilge gets a good coat of stinky Bilgekote paint!
Tomorrow I need to cut the decking to fit over the ribs to protect that area until I get back to it, apply fiberglass to the rear of the forward bulkhead and then start work in the cuddy. Much work to be done there!
4.5 Hours
Monday, January 9, 2012
Day 105 - Bulkheads!!!
Or at least one. :-)
I got started tonight by trimming the excess fiberglass left over from the rib installation work yesterday and knocking off the little pieces of peanut butter that had dripped on the hull. I was just starting to work on the bulkhead when...
Two Goettlers came over to help again tonight, Kim and Caitlin. Caitlin did such a great job yesterday I asked her to keep right on with the fiberglass work. She spent all night doing but three things. She glassed the ends of the ribs to the hull (didn't get done yesterday because it would have been too hard), fiberglassed the inside side panel seams on each side where the side panels were scarfed in place and then the rear side of the forward bulkhead between the bulkhead and the sides. I told her I'd hire her, but she'd have to commute from college.
On the east coast.
Don't think she'll take me up on that one. :-)
While Caitlin was glassing, Kim and I worked on the bulkhead. First she sanded down the bottom corners of the rear panel of the bulkhead to allow for the fiberglass that was put in the sides-to-chine joint. Then we lifted it into the hull and clamps and scrap plywood was used to hold the bulkhead in place at the shelf level and a single screw was driven at the lower port corner through the plywood and into the vertical framing piece to hold the bottom in place.
Next we worked on the forward bulkhead panel. The port side needed some sort of access panel to allow for air circulation and also for any wiring needs, but I didn't want to cut in another door. So I bought a vent panel. We positioned it on the port side and Kim traced the outside, then drew lines on the inside and using the jigsaw cut the panel out.
Further work was needed on the access door on the starboard side as the door had a slight warp in it that caused the corners to bow out. So we cut a piece of plywood that bent the other way and glued and screwed it to the inside of the door to offset the bend.
Last I cut out a strip of 1-1/8" plywood to use for a bunk support nailer like was used on the face of the flotation tank. Kim measured where to put it, applied glue and we put in two screws from the opposite side to hold it while the glue dries.
Now that front panel can't be installed yet as the conduit still has to be installed so we looked at working on the floor of the cuddy. Unfortunately when I was installing the 24oz fiberglass I really wasn't too concerned about perfect placement, so some of those very thick strands ended up sticking up from the edges of the stringers and they needed to be cut down. I tried to trim them off with a utility knife, but that just wasn't working so I sicked Kim on them with the 6" sander and shop vac. Took her all of about 30 minutes to grind everything down smooth.
Nice work!
Caitlin was still working on glassing the bulkhead, but it only took her about fifteen minutes and then we called it a night.
Just for fun I put my digital level on the face of the bulkheads. The measurements? 89.3 degrees on the starboard side and 90 degrees on the port side. Doesn't get much better than that!
Tomorrow will be floor and conduit work day. The floor in the cuddy will be an interesting trick as I'm placing the floor on top of the stringers which means that the chines will pass through it just like they did on the deck of the flotation tank. The deck pieces that will go on top of the ribs will be easy to cut, but won't be permanently installed for a while as blocking still has to be installed on the hull to anchor the fuel tanks and the straps for those will feed through the deck.
Once the conduit is installed then the front panel of the bulkhead can be glued in place and both faces of the bulkhead can get a fiberglass cover. Whee, that will be fun. :-)
3.5 Hours (Me) + 3 Hours (Kim) + 3 Hours (Caitlin) = 9 Hours
I got started tonight by trimming the excess fiberglass left over from the rib installation work yesterday and knocking off the little pieces of peanut butter that had dripped on the hull. I was just starting to work on the bulkhead when...
Two Goettlers came over to help again tonight, Kim and Caitlin. Caitlin did such a great job yesterday I asked her to keep right on with the fiberglass work. She spent all night doing but three things. She glassed the ends of the ribs to the hull (didn't get done yesterday because it would have been too hard), fiberglassed the inside side panel seams on each side where the side panels were scarfed in place and then the rear side of the forward bulkhead between the bulkhead and the sides. I told her I'd hire her, but she'd have to commute from college.
On the east coast.
Don't think she'll take me up on that one. :-)
While Caitlin was glassing, Kim and I worked on the bulkhead. First she sanded down the bottom corners of the rear panel of the bulkhead to allow for the fiberglass that was put in the sides-to-chine joint. Then we lifted it into the hull and clamps and scrap plywood was used to hold the bulkhead in place at the shelf level and a single screw was driven at the lower port corner through the plywood and into the vertical framing piece to hold the bottom in place.
Next we worked on the forward bulkhead panel. The port side needed some sort of access panel to allow for air circulation and also for any wiring needs, but I didn't want to cut in another door. So I bought a vent panel. We positioned it on the port side and Kim traced the outside, then drew lines on the inside and using the jigsaw cut the panel out.
Further work was needed on the access door on the starboard side as the door had a slight warp in it that caused the corners to bow out. So we cut a piece of plywood that bent the other way and glued and screwed it to the inside of the door to offset the bend.
Last I cut out a strip of 1-1/8" plywood to use for a bunk support nailer like was used on the face of the flotation tank. Kim measured where to put it, applied glue and we put in two screws from the opposite side to hold it while the glue dries.
Now that front panel can't be installed yet as the conduit still has to be installed so we looked at working on the floor of the cuddy. Unfortunately when I was installing the 24oz fiberglass I really wasn't too concerned about perfect placement, so some of those very thick strands ended up sticking up from the edges of the stringers and they needed to be cut down. I tried to trim them off with a utility knife, but that just wasn't working so I sicked Kim on them with the 6" sander and shop vac. Took her all of about 30 minutes to grind everything down smooth.
Nice work!
Caitlin was still working on glassing the bulkhead, but it only took her about fifteen minutes and then we called it a night.
Just for fun I put my digital level on the face of the bulkheads. The measurements? 89.3 degrees on the starboard side and 90 degrees on the port side. Doesn't get much better than that!
Tomorrow will be floor and conduit work day. The floor in the cuddy will be an interesting trick as I'm placing the floor on top of the stringers which means that the chines will pass through it just like they did on the deck of the flotation tank. The deck pieces that will go on top of the ribs will be easy to cut, but won't be permanently installed for a while as blocking still has to be installed on the hull to anchor the fuel tanks and the straps for those will feed through the deck.
Once the conduit is installed then the front panel of the bulkhead can be glued in place and both faces of the bulkhead can get a fiberglass cover. Whee, that will be fun. :-)
3.5 Hours (Me) + 3 Hours (Kim) + 3 Hours (Caitlin) = 9 Hours
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Day 104 - Getting down to it
Well, I had an offer of more help today from Caitlin and Kenneth Goettler and I gladly accepted.
First off was another trip to Home Depot for more stuff, then a stop at Western Auto for more deck plates and then off to the shed.
Clean up was the first order of business. I took apart the epoxy spreading area from yesterday, swept up all the sawdust from the past week plus the strands of roving, put away all the tools then set to cutting out the ribs that I didn't get to yesterday. I set the forward bulkhead on the table and took the front panel off. Caitlin and Kenneth showed up and then they got the grand tour and the plan for the day.
We would work on the ribs; cutting out the holes for the conduits and then installing them. I drilled the holes in the bulkhead for conduits, set the first of the ribs up to draw patterns for their holes. I set up my drill press and set Kenneth to work cutting holes in the starboard ribs.
While Kenneth was working on his ribs, Caitlin was working on fitting her port side ribs into place. When I cut and fit them the first time I didn't account for the thickness of the fiberglass roving we put in yesterday.
Then they swapped; Caitlin cutting holes and Kenneth fitting the ribs.
Quite the pile of disks eh'? The last step before installing the ribs was to make sure they were the same height as the stringers. Kenneth measured and I trimmed using the planer and then Caitlin and Kenneth got down to installing their ribs, making epoxy and peanut butter.
How'd they do?
Awesome!
Now I wasn't entirely a sloth during this process. I made sure they had enough fiberglass to do their work and in between I worked on building the two conduits that run side-to-side in the bulkhead. I failed to account for the thickness of the PVC fittings so I had to take a length of pipe, cut the joints at a 45 degree angle and then glue them together with 3M 4200. Tomorrow I'll reinforce those joints with more 4200.
So, we've reached a point where nothing more could be done today. Kenneth and Caitlin headed home, I left for dinner. They want to come back tomorrow to work, which will be great. The company and hard work is much appreciated!
Let's see...
7.5 Hours (me) + 5 Hours (Caitlin) + 5 Hours (Kenneth) = 17.5 Hours
First off was another trip to Home Depot for more stuff, then a stop at Western Auto for more deck plates and then off to the shed.
Clean up was the first order of business. I took apart the epoxy spreading area from yesterday, swept up all the sawdust from the past week plus the strands of roving, put away all the tools then set to cutting out the ribs that I didn't get to yesterday. I set the forward bulkhead on the table and took the front panel off. Caitlin and Kenneth showed up and then they got the grand tour and the plan for the day.
We would work on the ribs; cutting out the holes for the conduits and then installing them. I drilled the holes in the bulkhead for conduits, set the first of the ribs up to draw patterns for their holes. I set up my drill press and set Kenneth to work cutting holes in the starboard ribs.
While Kenneth was working on his ribs, Caitlin was working on fitting her port side ribs into place. When I cut and fit them the first time I didn't account for the thickness of the fiberglass roving we put in yesterday.
Then they swapped; Caitlin cutting holes and Kenneth fitting the ribs.
Quite the pile of disks eh'? The last step before installing the ribs was to make sure they were the same height as the stringers. Kenneth measured and I trimmed using the planer and then Caitlin and Kenneth got down to installing their ribs, making epoxy and peanut butter.
How'd they do?
Awesome!
Now I wasn't entirely a sloth during this process. I made sure they had enough fiberglass to do their work and in between I worked on building the two conduits that run side-to-side in the bulkhead. I failed to account for the thickness of the PVC fittings so I had to take a length of pipe, cut the joints at a 45 degree angle and then glue them together with 3M 4200. Tomorrow I'll reinforce those joints with more 4200.
So, we've reached a point where nothing more could be done today. Kenneth and Caitlin headed home, I left for dinner. They want to come back tomorrow to work, which will be great. The company and hard work is much appreciated!
Let's see...
7.5 Hours (me) + 5 Hours (Caitlin) + 5 Hours (Kenneth) = 17.5 Hours
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Day 103 - yay
woo hoo. I'm pooped, but it's done. With some great help I might add.
First thing to do this morning was to cut the ribs apart to get them off the table. Basically all I did was cut them apart, tomorrow I'll trim the excess off. I needed to focus all my attention on getting the big fiberglassing done.
Then I got started by sanding the inside of the hull. All the areas to be fiberglassed got well sanded and then I wiped down the inside with water and ammonia. Next I grabbed the large screwdriver and hammer and knocked the peanut butter drool off the sides of the stringers. It had run down when I epoxied the stringers to the hull and I just now got around to dealing with it.
I checked the phone to see what time it was and discovered I had missed a call from Brian Goettler and he was offering to help. Heck yes I'll take the help! I called him back and he said he'd come over.
I got started cutting fiberglass tape, four inch and six inch wide strips of 10oz fiberglass. I got a bunch cut and then Brian showed up and I gave him the grand tour and the rundown on what I wanted to get done today. Then I set him to cutting the rest of the 10oz strips while I hustled to put fillets in the sides-to-chine joints and then put on those four and six inch strips of 10oz.
Brian finished cutting the 10oz so I had him start cutting the 24oz woven roving into six and eight inch strips. Now 24oz roving is really heavy stuff and it looks like you're working with yarn and it's tough stuff to cut. I didn't watch Brian cutting it, but I'm sure he got a workout! :-)
He finished cutting the fiberglass and I sicked him on an engineering project. Trying to get 24oz woven roving to wet out with epoxy is a completely different game and the only way to really do it is to lay the roving on a piece of poly and pour, pour, pour the epoxy on and work it in with your hands (in gloves of course!). Then you pick up the piece of glass and put it where you want it on the boat. Now Brian's an engineer and what he came up with was a heck of a lot better than anything I would have done. Me, I would have slapped something together that probably would have worked and been a pain. What Brian came up with is almost a piece of art.
Crying shame it'll disappear tomorrow.
Next Brian painted the outboard side of the stringer with epoxy and I followed behind with peanut butter for the fillet. It's an acute angle and needed a fair amount. And then it was on to installing the roving.
The process of installing the roving was a controlled chaotic treat. I mixed epoxy 15 ounces at a time, Brian put the roving in the trough and poured epoxy over it and worked it in, then he passed the piece over the side to me and I placed it on the hull/stringers. He kept me running! First we laid in the six inch wide pieces and then the eight inch wide pieces. There was epoxy on everything, but I didn't care. We were gettin' it done! We got the outboard side of the stringers finished and then he had to go.
I took a brief break and then got started on the inboard side of the stringers. Painted them with epoxy and then started epoxying the eight inch strips of roving and I figured out mighty quick just how good Brian had gotten at doing it. It took me a while to get up to his speed. It took me longer to do as I was running back and forth, in and out of the hull, but eventually I got the stringers finished.
I used the last of the six inch wide roving to glass the transom to the sides and the hull after putting fillets in the joints. The sides were a little messy to do as the roving had to work around the Versalam, but I eventually managed to smooth it all out without having to cut anything.
Last I went all the way forward and put a piece of 10oz glass in the joint between the blocking for the flotation tank and the hull.
So there's now 20oz of fiberglass in the sides-to-chines joint; 48oz of roving on the outboard side of the stringers-to-hull joint; 24oz of roving on the inboard side of the stringers-to-hull joint, 24oz of roving on the sides-to-transom and transom-to-hull joints; and in the places where it overlaps in the corners upwards of 72oz of roving. I don't think anything's going anywhere. :-)
I'm beat and sore tonight. I think I'll have more help tomorrow, so we'll work on the ribs and forward bulkhead.
Oh, and I had my very first major pot of epoxy go off on me tonight. I got to screwing around cutting the roving to size for the transom area and forgot I had a batch of epoxy sitting in the cup ready to go. When I picked the cup up it was almost to hot to hang on to and it was starting to smoke! I poured out what would pour out and left the rest to harden in the cup. Gotta pay more attention to that!
11 Hours (me) + 4.5 Hours (Brian) = 15.5 Hours
First thing to do this morning was to cut the ribs apart to get them off the table. Basically all I did was cut them apart, tomorrow I'll trim the excess off. I needed to focus all my attention on getting the big fiberglassing done.
Then I got started by sanding the inside of the hull. All the areas to be fiberglassed got well sanded and then I wiped down the inside with water and ammonia. Next I grabbed the large screwdriver and hammer and knocked the peanut butter drool off the sides of the stringers. It had run down when I epoxied the stringers to the hull and I just now got around to dealing with it.
I checked the phone to see what time it was and discovered I had missed a call from Brian Goettler and he was offering to help. Heck yes I'll take the help! I called him back and he said he'd come over.
I got started cutting fiberglass tape, four inch and six inch wide strips of 10oz fiberglass. I got a bunch cut and then Brian showed up and I gave him the grand tour and the rundown on what I wanted to get done today. Then I set him to cutting the rest of the 10oz strips while I hustled to put fillets in the sides-to-chine joints and then put on those four and six inch strips of 10oz.
Brian finished cutting the 10oz so I had him start cutting the 24oz woven roving into six and eight inch strips. Now 24oz roving is really heavy stuff and it looks like you're working with yarn and it's tough stuff to cut. I didn't watch Brian cutting it, but I'm sure he got a workout! :-)
He finished cutting the fiberglass and I sicked him on an engineering project. Trying to get 24oz woven roving to wet out with epoxy is a completely different game and the only way to really do it is to lay the roving on a piece of poly and pour, pour, pour the epoxy on and work it in with your hands (in gloves of course!). Then you pick up the piece of glass and put it where you want it on the boat. Now Brian's an engineer and what he came up with was a heck of a lot better than anything I would have done. Me, I would have slapped something together that probably would have worked and been a pain. What Brian came up with is almost a piece of art.
Crying shame it'll disappear tomorrow.
Next Brian painted the outboard side of the stringer with epoxy and I followed behind with peanut butter for the fillet. It's an acute angle and needed a fair amount. And then it was on to installing the roving.
The process of installing the roving was a controlled chaotic treat. I mixed epoxy 15 ounces at a time, Brian put the roving in the trough and poured epoxy over it and worked it in, then he passed the piece over the side to me and I placed it on the hull/stringers. He kept me running! First we laid in the six inch wide pieces and then the eight inch wide pieces. There was epoxy on everything, but I didn't care. We were gettin' it done! We got the outboard side of the stringers finished and then he had to go.
I took a brief break and then got started on the inboard side of the stringers. Painted them with epoxy and then started epoxying the eight inch strips of roving and I figured out mighty quick just how good Brian had gotten at doing it. It took me a while to get up to his speed. It took me longer to do as I was running back and forth, in and out of the hull, but eventually I got the stringers finished.
I used the last of the six inch wide roving to glass the transom to the sides and the hull after putting fillets in the joints. The sides were a little messy to do as the roving had to work around the Versalam, but I eventually managed to smooth it all out without having to cut anything.
Last I went all the way forward and put a piece of 10oz glass in the joint between the blocking for the flotation tank and the hull.
So there's now 20oz of fiberglass in the sides-to-chines joint; 48oz of roving on the outboard side of the stringers-to-hull joint; 24oz of roving on the inboard side of the stringers-to-hull joint, 24oz of roving on the sides-to-transom and transom-to-hull joints; and in the places where it overlaps in the corners upwards of 72oz of roving. I don't think anything's going anywhere. :-)
I'm beat and sore tonight. I think I'll have more help tomorrow, so we'll work on the ribs and forward bulkhead.
Oh, and I had my very first major pot of epoxy go off on me tonight. I got to screwing around cutting the roving to size for the transom area and forgot I had a batch of epoxy sitting in the cup ready to go. When I picked the cup up it was almost to hot to hang on to and it was starting to smoke! I poured out what would pour out and left the rest to harden in the cup. Gotta pay more attention to that!
11 Hours (me) + 4.5 Hours (Brian) = 15.5 Hours
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)