Fixing the glassing operation. More lessons learned.

This morning I cut off most of the excess fiberglass cloth. Then upon examining yesterday's work, I noticed several issues.

First where the 2 pieces of cloth overlapped there were very noticeable bumps. Also I think I used way to much epoxy. In some areas you can see pooled epoxy bumps(like drips). In 2 small areas the tape came away from the wood (like an air bubble under the glass).

So I figured I better fix these issues now instead of putting a second coat on. I decided to sand all the bumps down with an orbital sander. This took a long time. Epoxy, it turns out, is difficult to sand. I then cut out 2 small pieces of cloth and patched where the air bubbles were.

After all was smoothed again I added the second layer of epoxy. Much thinner this time. For this layer I was suppose to use a foam roller. Between the roller and mixing larger pots of epoxy, things went much faster and smoother this time.

Lessons learned:

• Less epoxy to wet the cloth.
• Trim up cloth neatly before using epoxy.
• Take your time and get out any bubbles or ripples in cloth.

Overall I don't believe these are structural issues. I'm also hoping that more sanding and more thin layers of epoxy will cure all this. I will see. Maybe I should read a book on this.


One Day later...

Well the epoxy fixes seam to be a success. Hull is looking much smoother. So I sanded everything down again and rolled the third and final layer epoxy onto the wood. Hull is looking good.

Next mission is lumber. For the last few weeks I've been looking for the correct wood for the internal elements of the boat. This is not so easy to find. Home Depot and Lowes does not have what I need. Time is getting critical. I only have a few steps left to do before I need this lumber. Frustrating.

Glassing the hull

Work began to fiber-glass the hull. I first laid out fiber glass cloth over the entire boat. I then applied epoxy over the glass (wetting the glass) with a plastic squeegee. This was surprisingly difficult. First I underestimated the amount of epoxy needed. I was mixing it in too small doses. I spent more time mixing than applying. Second this can be very messy work. Tough to get the sides without dripping. I still need to add at least 2 more coats of epoxy over the next few days.

Fairing the hull

Today I "faired" or sculpted the boat. First I cut the cable ties as close to the hull as possible. Then I sanded where epoxy leaked though the seams and I rounded all edges with an orbital sander. Finally I sanded the remnants of the cable ties and any other area that needed attention.

Then I added epoxy thickened with wood flour to fill in the holes and panel gaps. Then sanded again.

Gluing - Mix mix mix

Last Friday I ordered epoxy, fiberglass tape, fiberglass cloth and wood flour online. The package finally arrived today, so I began work this evening and glued the boat.

Step one was to apply epoxy thickened with wood flour to create a curved "fillet" in all the seems. After making a nice smooth fillet, two layers of 3" fiberglass tape are placed over the fillets and saturate with epoxy. Finally a coat of epoxy is rolled over the entire interior.

My wife was a huge help with this step. She mixed the epoxy why I applied it to the boat.  Essentially she made and mixed epoxy for over 2 hours straight. Half way through the process my son Ryan came out to help. They were both terrific and this saved me hours of time. 

Stitching

Today the boat goes 3D. 

The building process is called "Stitch and Glue".  First the panels are stitched together to get the desired shape of the boat. Then you glue the panels together for a permanent, water-tight bond. Then remove the stitches.

First I drilled 1/8" holes every six inches. I used 4"long thin cable ties to stitch the boat. I then needed to jostle all the pieces so everything would fit. Finally I tightened the cable ties.

 

Wow starting to look like a boat! There was much relief when everything fit. Phew!

 

Cutting panels

First thing I did today was to build a temporary table. This was a good idea and saved my back. Working off the floor was hell. I then measured and cut the transom, bulkheads and seats. Most of the cuts were done with a circular saw. For tighter curves I used a jig saw.

I then moved everything outside for sanding and trimming. First I used an orbital sander to smooth the scarf joints. Then I trimmed all the edges using a block plane. I am definitely not an expert with the block plane so I sanded the edges with my sander as a final step.

Layout and Lessons Learned

The epoxied scarf joints turned out just fine. Today I started the process of laying out the design onto the panels. I used a chalk line to create a centerline.  Then I made a series of marks at specific locations defined by the plans. At these marks I drove 1 3/4" finishing nails to mark the locations. I then used a 15' length of quarter round and clamped it to the nails. This created a smooth curve which was then traced with a pencil.

Ryan helped on the hull.

After much measuring and remeasuring I cut the panels with a mini circular saw.

Lessons Learned.

I quickly learned that your work environment is critical for the success of your project.  My "workshop" was the floor of my garage. Very big mistake. I plan to build a temporary table. This will make things much easier. I should have built a temporary 4x16 table from the beginning. It would have been worth it. I will reorganize the garage over the next few days to have a place for all the "stuff" I need.

Tools bought so far:

• Rockwell 4" circular saw. This thing is awesome.
• Block plane (I'm not so good with this yet)
• Hand held Power planar.  (probably redundant if  I was good with the block plane)
• Orbital sander.
• Chalk line
• Awe
• Clamps (lots)