C17 in Washington

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WobblyLegs
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Post by WobblyLegs »

glcost wrote:Wobbly,

I believe you work by yourself too. How long did it take to epoxy your hull?
George, it took me about 2.5 hours for the first side, and about 1.5 for the second - you know how it goes: once you get into the routine, things happen quicker...

Out of interest, what weight cloth are you using? It looks like it hangs down the sides easier than mine did (450g cloth).

Also, I didn't extend mine over the transom, but looking at the way your cloth is hanging, I would (next time) do it that way.

Regards,

Tim.

WobblyLegs
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Post by WobblyLegs »

glcost wrote:My wife stays away from boatbuilding like it's the plague. I'm going to have lots of pre-measured cups of resin and hardener, then all I just have to combine and stir.

I'm not planning on saturating the hull plywood with epoxy before laying down the cloth.
Mrs Wobbly is quite helpful sometimes, as long as it doesn't involve getting sticky.

As to your measured cups: I've been using the West system with pumps, so mixing has been really easy - four squirts of resin, four squirts of hardener, mix 'n pour...
Shine wrote:
glcost wrote:I'm not planning on saturating the hull plywood with epoxy before laying down the cloth.
Just so you know, this could lead to the wood sucking up some of the epoxy - leaving a resin starved laminate.
This might be the case, but my wet-on-dry worked fine, being quite generous as to the amount of epoxy I spread. Keep an eye out as you near the end of one section on where you started to see if it needs a bit more added. Easily done.

Regards,

Wobb.

Rick
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Post by Rick »

glcost wrote:My wife stays away from boatbuilding like it's the plague.
I have a two teenage boys with experience building three boats for rent.

Reasonable rates! And they won't drink your beer, either!

glcost
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Post by glcost »

Just so you know, this could lead to the wood sucking up some of the epoxy - leaving a resin starved laminate.
Yeah, I am aware of that Shine. I'm not doing this to reduce the amount of epoxy used, but to reduce the number of steps. Also, I hate laying out the fiberglass cloth on a tacky surface. I always make a mess of the cloth and can't get it to lay right.

I've never been stingy when applying epoxy too.

Do you not recommend laminating this way?
George C

WobblyLegs
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Post by WobblyLegs »

George,

Another thing to keep in mind with the time it took me: I did mine on a very warm day (30ºC or so), so the epoxy was very thin. If you're working at lower temp's your epoxy will be thicker, so it's going to take you longer (but you also get more working time...).

T.

glcost
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Post by glcost »

Rick, Thanks for the offer, but I'm gone pass. When it comes down to it, I just like working by myself! It's part the therapeutic reward for me.

Wobbly, The cloth is 12oz (340gm?) which I bought from Jacques and company. Looks like it might be lighter weight then you used. Yeah, I've never had problems with wet-on-dry lamination either. Like you said, keep an eye on previously worked sections and add a bit more if needed. I find the paint roller works well for wet-on-dry lamination too.

I liked using the pumps too, but when they got older stopped metering correctly. So I've been mixing with cups now. When you start up in the spring, remember to check your pumps.
George C

Rick
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Post by Rick »

glcost wrote:Rick, Thanks for the offer, but I'm gone pass. When it comes down to it, I just like working by myself! It's part the therapeutic reward for me.
Heh. I forgot you were just down the Interstate. It supposed to be a joke.

They have gone from being a "helper" to really being a help. It's been fun. We finished the 2005 canoe project in just a few weeks of part-time work because they can actually help now.

glcost
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Post by glcost »

Rick wrote:Heh. I forgot you were just down the Interstate. It supposed to be a joke.

They have gone from being a "helper" to really being a help. It's been fun. We finished the 2005 canoe project in just a few weeks of part-time work because they can actually help now.
You should be proud of yourself for passing down your handy-work skills to your kids. It's the one thing I regret not doing with mine.
George C

glcost
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Post by glcost »

Yesterday was a brillant day here in Tacoma, WA, so I spent it laminating the outside of the hull. Since it was still a little cool in the morning, I placed a couple space heaters under the hull to warm up the plywood panels. After mixing my first batch of epoxy, it was a little too thick, I warmed up the jugs with the heaters too. In all, the work went smoothly and I'm very pleased with the results.

I spent about 1.5 hours getting everything prepared; putting down plastic, wiping down the hull with acetone where epoxy had already been applied, gathering supplies, etc... Working on my own, it took me about 1-3/4 hours to laminate the first side. Then I waited for the epoxy to harden enough so the cloth on the opposite half wouldn't stick too badly at the overlap. I think the second half took about 2 hours to laminate. I found this half to be a little more difficult because the overlap being tacky and not allowing the cloth to flow as well. Once complete, I applied a filler coat of epoxy. I used about 240 oz of epoxy to do it all.

To laminate, I placed the FG cloth for one side on the dry hull (I didn't saturate the plywood panels first). Then mixed up 12 oz of epoxy and poured on to a local area of the hull and spread it with a 7" paint roller. Then went over it with a squeegee. I started at the transom and working forward one section at a time. If a previously done sections looked light on epoxy, I'd roll on some more.

Here's a few pictures of the results:

Image
Image

Image
George C

Rick
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Post by Rick »

So, George, why did you leave the tape on after you wet out the epoxy? I would have thought that you would want to wet the edges, too. Of course, you may have removed it right after you took the pictures, so forget I asked.

I'm sure I'm speaking for all PNW bpoers that we are looking forward to rides on opening day next summer.

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