#4

[retep]

A couple of turned corners today. Roof blocking and foam board. (Trying to bait some foamies in!)





T

I am really admiring your work!!! Very very nice . Well done


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[Tom&Shelly]

A couple of turned corners today. Roof blocking and foam board. (Trying to bait some foamies in!)





T

Looks great!

Tom

[tony.latham]

I've been packing today for an extended raft trip but managed to slip out and glass the galley wall edges. The rest of the walls were glassed on the bench.



Tony

[ntg1988]

Fantastic work! Thanks for sharing your work and process with everyone!!

[tony.latham]

I was gone for six nights on the dreaded River of No Return.

But I returned and found a moment to crank out the third tail-light block this afternoon. Block or base? Is there a better name?

Sketchup made it easy to come up with a profile with the proper angle.



And here it is... upside down.



I'm a big believer in these things --but no incident to support my belief.

The last one I made took me three days since I had to make it out of aluminum. This one will be glassed (the first piece is on it now) and then epoxied to the roof after it's been glassed.



Tony

[S. Heisley]

On your fourth, they say practice makes perfect and, Dang! Fella! You're doing mighty fine!

[OP827]

It is coming together, Tony!
What is your latest plan for fairing and finishing over epoxy glass? BTW, I am getting quotes from auto body paint shops to prime and paint, only two places so far agreed to take my build to spray paint and their work is not cheap. I am thinking of priming and block sanding myself prior to their paint to reduce costs...

[tony.latham]

What is your latest plan for fairing and finishing over epoxy glass?

I've sanded the glass on the walls with 120 grit using a random orbital. It's fairly fair.

After I glass the roof, I'm going to add fiberglass bias tape to the edge. (The edge will be relieved with a 3/8" round-over bit prior to that.) And of course, that tape will add a line on both edges. I'll fair that out with thickened epoxy before it's cured. We'll see how that comes out.

I think the Monstaliner will add a tiny bit of a fudge factor, unlike paint. Not much but some.

Tony

[OP827]

Monstaliner is tough and less cost than automotive paint, good plan.

[Tom&Shelly]

The last one I made took me three days since I had to make it out of aluminum. This one will be glassed (the first piece is on it now) and then epoxied to the roof after it's been glassed.



Tony

Looks good!

How hard will it be to position it on the roof, and have it keep that position, as the epoxy cures, Tony?

As you know, our experience with epoxy is limited. I was afraid ours might slip and slide, so decided to screw it down to a (hatch) rib, as well as using epoxy. (Not sure we'll glass the block; we may just spread epoxy on the pine and leave it at that.)

Tom

[swoody126]

glass it completely

you can hold it in place w/ a coupla screws left proud while the pox cures

once cured remove the screws and fill the holes w/ a bit of thickened pox after drizzling some unthickened pox in the hole to soak into the fibers so the bond wont get starved and not hold

sw

[tony.latham]

How hard will it be to position it on the roof, and have it keep that position, as the epoxy cures, Tony?

Good question. I've got the gray matter working on it.

I'll probably let the roof layup sit until it's tacky like tape. I'll thicken the epoxy for this with colloidal silica --stirred in until it's like creamy peanut butter. (You can use sanding powder if you don't have any.)

But just to be sure I get it in the right spot, I might pilot drill a couple of holes –-prior to the layup-- and screw it down to make sure I've got it where I want it. It'll be spanning about 3" between the bulkhead and the hatch spar so there isn't a lot of meat to screw to.

We're leaving in the morning for a four nighter on a fire lookout so I've got time to think.

Tony

[tony.latham]

glass it completely

you can hold it in place w/ a coupla screws left proud while the pox cures

once cured remove the screws and fill the holes w/ a bit of thickened pox after drizzling some unthickened pox in the hole to soak into the fibers so the bond wont get starved and not hold

sw

That's good advice.

T

[swoody126]

it's how we build boats

make sure you don't squeeze all the pox out of the joint and starve the joint either

the strength of pox relies on a thin layer between parts being joined

unike joining w/ Tite-Bond type glues where the parts need to be squoze tightly together for a good bond

w/ both parts coated w/ unthickened pox 1st to saturate the fibers the thickened pox used as a bonding agent WILL HOLD and the joint wil be stronger than the wood parts on either side

you can thicken w/ commercial thickeners or do as i do and use wood FOUR(not saw dust)

the flour saturates quicker n easier while leaving a smoother finish for prepping for your next steps(fairing for glassing)

one other thing about wood working and specialy when using epoxy

make sure to protect your eyes lungs and skin from exposure

wrap around glasses

breathing filter system and a well ventilated work space

nitrile gloves

I SURE AM ENJOYING YOUR BUILD PROCESS

sw

[noseoil]

Looking really good Tony. Everything looks clean & well thought out on the different stages you're showing as you go. Curious about the epoxy & added costs associated with it. Since you will be doing away with an aluminum skin, have you run a cost comparison of the difference between a conventional aluminum skin with trim & screws etc. vs. the epoxy/glass type on this build?

Epoxy isn't cheap, but the way your build is looking, it should be as close to "bulletproof" as humanly possible. The liner material for a finish will be good protection against UV, gravel, mud, road grime & even small hail in a storm (we have that here in northern NM now). Looking forward to the finished project, maiden voyage & the sea trials! Please remember us if you head south, northern NM is much cooler than Arizona.