CX19 progress updates Perth WA

[gerry]

Well it took two days to finish taping the bow and transom, but have finally taped the whole hull. It looks so much better now than with the gap



I used the dowel for the bow, that was a great tip and worked really well.

I rounded the edges at the join so that the tape would go over the ridge(styleline) at the tip easily. Supaglue was used to tack the dowel in place so the zip zies could be removed and spaces filled with resin.

I was hoping to tape over the putty the same day but ended up waiting until the next day. It was difficult to get it right while the putty was very very slowly sliding down the bow. Only a light sanding was required the next day before putting the tape on.

I can build it up so that there is an even ridge all the way round matching the sides and put a layer of tape over it before the final cloth. Am undecided yet, but it kind of looks okay from the side.

From the front

and the side.



The transom sides were also taped, but to get the tape over the ridge I had to use some plastic sheets to keep it in place while it was still tacky. I am now seriously thinking about using the peel ply for the cloth. I want to use cloth to completely cover the side.





This weekend will be a big effort to put the cloth on! If I only get it sanded and faired enough for the cloth I will be happy though. The screw holes on the side panels have been filled and ready to sand flush this weekend. The orbital sander is proving a great time saver and I have no dust from it whatsoever...the shop vac fits perfect.

Looks like you may not have enough overhead room in there to build the superstructure once you flip. Finish outside?

I am thinking about it, hopefully I will be moving to a bigger Shed soon

[Lucky_Louis]

Looking GREAT Gerry! Glad the dowel worked out. A broomstick for a bow, sounds like a great story for the launching ramp

You may want to rethink 'fairing' before glassing. From what I've read and learned, it's not a great idea to have fairing compound between the core (your plywood) and your skin (epoxy/glass). Fairing compund is weak by design and can also affect the primary bond between wood and epoxy. What I have always done is just knock down the selvage (the threads used to bind the biaxial fibres together) and a slight feathering at the outer 1-2 cm of the tape. This technique will save time and materials, and result in a stronger laminate. A 6" right angle grinder with a 30 grit disk and a gentle hand will make quick work of it. Wash the tape first before sanding to remove any amine blush and avoid ginding it deeper into the glass.

Laminating seems daunting to most 1st time builders but afterwards almost everyone says it was a breeze and went off without a hitch. Preparation and a helper is the key to a 'good' day. Here's what I did -

Pre-cut all the glass, number the panels, and mark their edges on the hull so you'll know where they fit. Wet-on-wet is the best method so once started, try not to stop. Unplug phones, put up DO NOT DISTURB signs on the shop doors. No time to BS with the neighbours today!

Pre-pour your epoxy in 6 oz batches into a dozen or more plastic beer mugs. Drop a new 1" tongue depressor into each cup. Put the epoxy jug out of reach so your helper can't accidently add epoxy to epoxy. Have a clear plastic cup for the hardener pre-marked to the correct level. Then your helper only has to fill to the line, pour, and stir for 2 minutes BY THE CLOCK. Lots of mixing stick scraping, cup bottom and side scraping. You do not want any uncured epoxy especially during this phase .

Put on 2 or even three pairs of gloves. That way if you tear one, need to touch something, scratch your nose, etc. then you just tear off the outer glove and voila! fresh glove.

Have good light. Have a big trash can handy. Don't reuse cups or stir sticks. Use a squeegee to spread the epoxy on the bare wood, and use the squeegee to spread the epoxy to wet out the glass. Have gloves and a spare squeegee handy.

Try to build a rythym. I found that if I called for more epoxy as soon as I finishing spreading out a batch, then by the time I had finishing wetting out the patch, the new batch was ready for me. Take the cup you just finished and put it upside down on the next area, cuts down on waste.

You can estimate the amount of epoxy you'll need by putting all your precut glass in a bag and weighing it. For a perfect epoxy/glass ratio of 1:1, that's how much epoxy/hardener you'll need to do the job.

Be patient (within reason) when wetting out. Try build up a feel for wetting out time and avoid adding more resin to speed things up. It takes a few minutes for the glass to wick up the epoxy. Once you spread the batch of epoxy, you will have plenty of time before it kicks.

And HAVE FUN! Good luck, keep the pictures coming.

[gerry]

What a mission!!

I started glassing the hull. I estimated 12 hours would be a good run on my own and I did a lot of preparation the week and half beforehand.

But I did not plan on a lightning strike and a power outage for 4 hours so it is a bit messy at the moment and I could not finish the transom and one side. But I am happy with it so far. A little orbital sanding and touch up with the dremel and then finish glassing the other side and it should fair up great...much better than the canoe anyway.

A few pics are in the gallery

this has a runny coat of fairing on it. the other side I got it right!


and the outtakes are at

http://picasaweb.google.com/gerard.hale ... irst_half/

and some video on memory stick

http://http://picasaweb.google.com/gerard.hale/Video/

should have my energy back for another run this weekend..

[Lucky_Louis]

Congrats on another big step completed

Instead of random orbital, you may want to think about longboarding. The random orbital will follow any existing contours and doesn't really 'fair' a surface. For longboarding, get some aggresive grits and it will go pretty quickly. I used maximum 60 grit, some 40 grit and even some 30 grit. The finish coat of fairing is where the RO does it's work and on primer as well.

[tech_support]

Yes, a long faring board is what you should use at this stage. you can make your own if you cant find them locally (I know there is post on this if you do a search). The long board saves time and results are better

I like your dry erase board in the shop - its helpful to your building progess to have thought as much as ahead of time as possible

[TomW]

Good looking boat.

Gerry I like to use two long boards one fairly stiff 3/4" on the straight sections on the rear of the bottom, this is where it is critical that you have a straight flat section from the transom to where it starts to curve, usually 7-8'. Then a standard 1/4" board on the rest of the boat.

I also like your dry erase board. Used them in other jobs never thought to use them here.

Tom

[gerry]

Cheers for the comments, I definitely agree with the longboard approach. I will need to make two by the sounds of it very soon. I have found a Hardware Store that sells the perfect sandpaper for these boards.

The random orbital I was going to use to feather the edges and take off some high areas of the fairing that got left after the lightning strike
It is also good because it can suck up the dust as I go.

I basically just cleaned up today and sanded the hull ready for the next roll of tape and cloth. After todays effort, I am glad I got the very thin coat of fairing on all the open areas to fill the weave last weekend before it had fully cured. It is not so easy to sand the weave to get a key for the next layer of cloth. Definitely makes a noise sanding the boat with the Orbital Sander though I will be glad when the hull is completely covered with cloth.

The whiteboard is handy, needs an update soon though! Will need to start thinking about the fairing tasks and also the keel, strakes, spray rails and rub rails. And then painting it, still deciding on the colour scheme

[gerry]

Back again, feel like I have reached a milestone now! The hull is completely covered in cloth and finally coated with a thin layer of fairing Q-Cel to fill the weave. Definitely was a marathon to get most done wet on wet...now the sanding begins

I have put some of photos in the gallery.

A shot of the bow.


From the side.


The quick fair on the transom corners is a bit rough but should sand back ok. All the fibres should have fully absorbed the resin. The temperature was about 15 - 18C and had very few bubbles.

The rest of thumbnails are at
http://picasaweb.google.com/gerard.hale ... w_glassed#.

The latest video on mem stick
http://picasaweb.google.com/gerard.hale/Video

That was actually hard work, but worth it!!

[Lucky_Louis]

Looking great Gerry! Man, that's a lot of glass and epoxy. Thanks for all the photos. I think I'll run out and buy a few more shares in 3M today...

[Doug]

These are the best for fairing. The purple is top of the line but harder to find. Use 36 or 40 grit, They are expensive but last many times longer than cheap production paper. Also try to sand the fairing compound within 1 day of when you apply it. It gets harder over a couple of days.

3M Imperial Purple LongBoard Sheets
3M Green Corps Stikit LongBoard Sheets

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3M Imperial Purple abrasives offer the highest quality and latest in 3M abrasive technology. Cubitron mineral is used for tough substrates, like marine paint, gelcoat and high build primers. These sanding sheets have a Stikit back to adhere to the 2-3/4 In x 17 In sanding longboards. Used for shaping plastic filler, removing paint around damaged area and scratch refinement of bare metal. 3M's fastest cutting, longest lasting abrasive for saving labor costs and improving quality.