OB17 Underway downunder.

[sideslippa]

G'day topwater, 0.5 mm seems to be just right for the depth of the cut.

First I champhered the wood at the cut to allow for some epoxy/glue powder mix ( personal choice ) then planed off one side and layed up with glass, after it was cured I then planed the other side followed by glue then the glass etc.

At this stage I do intend to do all the external joints this way and some of the internal butt joins.

[sideslippa]

After fairing and sanding. Not a lot of fairing material required.

[sideslippa]

Ready to mark out a station and frame...1st one. I chose station D

[sideslippa]

Seemed to work out OK, checked the diagonal measurements, they were identical... lucky! Four more to go.

[Bowmovement]

Good luck on the build. Been looking forward to watching one of the OBs come together.

[sideslippa]

No worries... I will keep adding to the forum as I go. Thanks.

[chicagoross]

Looks good on those splices! Seems like a few minutes with the electric plane ought to beat hours with a longboard!

[sideslippa]

That's the idea Chicagoross, Lets hope it works out that way. Some others have also done the same thing and say it saves time in the long run. I think it should be every bit as strong too. I have tried to break the test piece and it is incredibly stiff, I was not able to break it with out jumping on it.

Best regards... Steve.

[Lucky_Louis]

Looking awesome Steve. I had thought about recessing the butt joints too but Santa didn't bring my power plane until after all the outside joints were spliced and taped.

A few main things I learned about fairing
- use the best sandpaper available. boatbuilding time is precious and valuable too.
- don't be afraid of agressive grits (by the time I finished I was starting with 30 grit)
- don't flog a dead horse, feel the paper, if doesn't feel sharp, toss it.
- use a scraper instead of sanding wherever you can. not so much for fairing but for finish work, removing ridges, drips, and runs. Very fast, and no dust.

If I had followed my above advice, I could have saved 50% or better on my fairing time and been far less frustrated. Hope this helps.

[Daddy]

Amen, Louis

Daddy