HC14 Build Two

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JCordray
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HC14 Build Two

Post by JCordray »

Hello All!

I have started a second Hiawatha Canoe now and thought I would start another thread to keep you updated.

So far I have only managed to cut out the rubrails and the hull shapes. After I finish this email I will fire up the heater and go epoxy the panels together in the middle to create the full length panels. I think I'm a slow builder as it has taken me about four and a half hours to get this far!

Here are some pics - or their links...

http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?pid=46333

http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?pid=46334

http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?pid=46335

http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage.php?pid=46336

There are captions for each picture in the gallery.

Now off to the garage to do some more work!

AMC
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Re: HC14 Build Two

Post by AMC »

If you take the middle nails out from the rub rails, they will start to pre-bend for you.

JCordray
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Re: HC14 Build Two

Post by JCordray »

Good idea!

Taped joints of panels earlier. I'll go have a look in the morning and make sure all is well.

JCordray
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Re: HC14 Build Two

Post by JCordray »

So last night I flipped the panels with the able help of Andy, a guy in our church. We stuck some epoxy on with a foam roller and then placed glass tape on each middle joint. On top of that went some cheap plastic bin bags. On top of the bin bags I put on a long plank of wood and then put weights on top of that. I hoped this would produce nice, flat joints.

This morning I went out to have a look and I am really pleased! All five of the joints look very flat.

So I put on a bit of epoxy and spread it around to fill the glass tape some more. I don't have loads of experience with all of these tools and techniques but I am pretty pleased with the result so far on this second boat.

Here are some pictures:

This shot is simply all of the hull panels cut and standing up like strange surfboards waiting to be joined together into their full working lengths.
Image


This is a shot of the first side of the hull panels being taped together. The rig looks big but failed ultimately to get the joints as flat as I would have liked. I have gone back to flatten them individually and added more epoxy to them so they will stay in the right shape.
Image

Here is a close picture of the middle seams on the second side. The weighted board made a big difference. This is also after the small fill coat of epoxy to fill in the weave of the tape some so the panels are strong enough to assemble. At this point, if I read everyone else correctly, I won't add any more epoxy to the joint to make the tape go completely invisible. This should be plenty strong enough and I will fill the weave totally while fairing the hull later.
Image

This is another, even closer, picture of the joint. You can still see the weave of the tape. I think the flash made some of the tape appear white as if it does not have enough epoxy in it but this is not really the case. It all looks good to the naked eye!
Image

Here is the last shot for today showing all five panels glued together at the middle.
Image

Tonight I hope the epoxy is cured enough for me to start assembling the panels. So I'll drill some holes and start with the two lower chines being attached to the bottom panel. The wife said she wants to get in the bed early with me so maybe I'll have a tough choice to make...

:wink: :wink:

JCordray
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Re: HC14 Build Two

Post by JCordray »

I have moved on a bit now and need to post an update here. So here it goes - with some pictures!

So I got the panels all glued together and assembled the bottom of the hull to the two lower chine panels. Here is what it looks like without any spot welds in place:
Image

This wasn't too hard but it did seem to take up a lot of time! I did better this time around I think because I left all of the stitches loose at first so I could go back later and adjust the panels for a better fit and curve. This seems to have made it all look a little better.

And here it is with some spot welds put in place:
Image

I cleaned up after putting the welds in place so that they are as smooth as can be. This should eliminate some bumps under the tape which will go on top of them (after the fillets have been built properly).

I think these seem small but hold the panels together very well. Does anyone make them even smaller?

For interest, this is a view with the camera sitting in the bottom of the boat:
Image

Here is the first of the two bottom seams completed:
Image

I am happy with how it turned out. I rolled some unthickened epoxy onto the wood around the joint, then added in the epoxy mixed with filleting blend and then stuck the tape on top of both of them. There were some places where there was not quite enough epoxy from the roller to hold the tape down so I mixed up some more and dabbed it on with a paint brush. I have gone back to look in on it this morning and most of it looks great. There are a few places where it seems like the tape did not adhere well to the fillet. I will investigate this more while putting another layer of epoxy on it all.

This shows you kind of what I mean:
Image

There are white spots in the tape above the fillet where it looks like the tape is not making a great bond with the filleting material. This looked much better this morning - the picture was taken almost immediately after it was done so the tape had not absorbed much epoxy yet.

I don't think it will be a big deal and I will know for sure after the next layer of epoxy.

Your thoughts?

JCordray
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Re: HC14 Build Two

Post by JCordray »

Well I've been back in the garage again! Thank goodness!

There was a little break for the mother-in-law, a new baby and then my mother. I didn't do a lot of work during these visits. Then my heater broke...

The baby is a boy named Barnabas Gabriel and he is a biggun. Born on December 19th, he weighed 9lb 10oz. That's a good sized baby for my five foot tall wife!

After getting a new heater and rid of various grandparents I have been back to work. Now all of the panels are glued together. Tonight I added on some spot welds so I can do the seams in the bow and stern. All of the interior has had one coat of epoxy and tomorrow I hope to roll on another coat so she will be ready to be flipped over.

I'll post some pictures when I am not tired...

Happy New Year!

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topwater
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Re: HC14 Build Two

Post by topwater »

Congrats on the new baby boy 8)
Novi 23 finally launched !

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