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Jimzee: A C12 Tribute

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:49 pm
by Biker B.O.B.
Edit 4/15/14: After four years in the Florida sun and a torn sail it is time for a remake/refresh. This new part of the story picks up at post 194 (which is page 20 for me).

This boat is being built as a tribute to my wife's grandfather, "Papa Jim." Papa Jim was a WWII veteran who lost a leg to a landmine in the European campaign. However, this did not at all diminish his zeal for life. There are many stories about Papa Jim's antics, many of which involve his artificial leg. One of which involves his sinking of a sailboat (on the same lake this one will sail) and having to swim to shore while toting his leg with him.

One day, about a year ago, my father-in-law and I were on the family dock reminiscing about Papa Jim; including the story above. It was also a beautiful day for sailing. I mentioned that it would be nice to have a sailboat, and he agreed. Shortly after that, I decided to build one instead of buying one. It was at some point in the planning stages, probably once my father-in-law decided I was serious abou the build, that he asked if we could name it Jimzee as a tribute to Papa. No hesitation here, I'd be honored.

Now, with one boat built and sailing, it's time to get started on "Jimzee."

Getting started

Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:55 pm
by Biker B.O.B.
Now, motorcycles are more than a hobby to me. And in the six weeks between the completion of the V12 and the start of Jimzee, I managed to add two motorcycles to the garage. So, I had to make some room to actually build the boat.

Yes, there is room for four motorcycles and a 12' boat.
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So, once the supplies were gathered, we could actually start. My wife is helping me on this one, but none of the picture I took with here in them met her approval for posting on the internet. Here is a pic of the first cut.
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And on the first day we even got started with joining the pieces together with 'glass tape.
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I opted for the 'glass tape becuase I just don't want butt blocks on this build. I'm going for the best I can do. So, I expect this build to take longer; no deadlines.

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:16 am
by TomW
Nice sentiments Shawn. Glad you can do this.

Tom

Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:27 pm
by Biker B.O.B.
We made some more progress today. Stitched her together and set the tack welds.
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Yep. Me and my lovely assistant, seen below.
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I'm glad that my wife has decided to help me with this boat. Not only is it time we can spend together on a project, but she has already pointed out easier ways to do a couple of things; like not completely disassembling the entire bottom when I had to cut 3/8" off of each side of frame B.

Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:44 pm
by Biker B.O.B.
This 12 oz. biax tape is a bear to wet out. It simply refuses to absorb epoxy. It took me three hours to prime the outside seams and apply tape to the keel, both chines and the bow. The transom will wait for another day as I'm a little short on patience right now. I'd swear that I could apply two layers of 6 oz. biax in less time than it took me to apply this 12 oz. stuff.

I haven't tried pre-soaking long pieces of tape, only short ones. But I think that I'll try that for the inside seams.

OK. Getting that out helped me relax a little. I think I can get to sleep shortly now.

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 9:15 am
by Cracker Larry
I'm going for the best I can do. So, I expect this build to take longer; no deadlines.
There ya go, that's the way to build a boat 8)
This 12 oz. biax tape is a bear to wet out. It simply refuses to absorb epoxy.
If you figure 1 oz of epoxy for every foot of tape it will work out about right. For a 16' strip of tape I make 16 oz. of epoxy, roll out the tape, pour the epoxy evenly along its length, then go back with a chip brush and work it in. Only takes a couple of minutes.

I don't have much luck with pre-soaking, but many people do.

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 11:10 am
by gk108
Those bottom panels sure go on easier than the last one, don't they? I haven't had much luck with wetting the tape before it is applied, either. I think I've done it on a grand total of about 8 ft. of tape. Mostly on afterthought type things where it's about the only practical way, like tabbing the mast partner to the frame on the underside. I figured I'd have less resin drips running down the frame that way.

When I used the 12 oz. biax on the D15, I just used a brush to get the resin out of the tub and on the tape. After that, I used a cheap silicone spatula to spread it and force the resin into the glass.

Here's my question. Are you going to bring it to Crystal River? 8)

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 3:11 pm
by Biker B.O.B.
Crystal River is only 30 minutes from me; actually in the same county. But, I don't know what gathering you are talking about. I might consider it, but there are two problems. Will it be done in time? And I don't have (nor do I plan to make) a trailer for it. My current plans are to move it to the lake, when its finished, using my 6x10 utility trailer.

As for the tape... I mix three ounces at a time. More would just run down the sides and drip on the floor before I could get to it. I'd spread it out a little with a spreader and work it back and forth, again and again, until I finally wet the tape. The bottom (facing up) portion of the tape was easier but still slow. It's like it just moved over the top of the tape. The sides were a nightmare. :x I was amazed at how many times I'd have to work that epoxy, catch the runs, work the epoxy some more, and still not completely wet it out.

Doubling up on 6 oz. biax sounds better, until you realize that the plans call for doubled 12 oz. on the inside chines. That would be four layers of 6 oz. Hopefully working on the inside will make that part easier. No need to worry about runaway epoxy.

I did try a foam roller at one point. It woked better on the "butt blocks" than on the chine tape. I'll have to pick up some more chip brushes and try that.

Thanks for the tips and encouragement, both of you.

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 4:03 pm
by TomW
The Crystal River meeting is our annual boat builders meeting where we show off the boats we build, shoot the bs, do some fishing, drink some refreshments, have a cook-out and have some demonstrations by Shine.

Here is the link to this years planning http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?t=17766

Hope to meet you there.

Tom

Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 4:46 pm
by Cracker Larry
Shawn, I wish I was closer, I could show you what I'm talking about. Maybe Ken or someone close can do that :?:

It's just a matter of technique. I'll try to explain again.

First measure and pre-cut the tape.

Second, with a roller, wet the complete area that the tape will cover with epoxy. A fairly heavy coat, but not to the point of running.

Third, roll your pre-cut tape out over the wet epoxy and smooth it flat. I just use my hands for this. Doing this will almost completely wet out the bottom side of the cloth.

Fourth, mix about 1 ounce epoxy per foot of tape. I don't have any trouble working with up to 20 feet of tape/20 oz. of epoxy at a time, even if you only pour out a few feet at a time. Pour it evenly across the top of the tape if it is vertical. Sometime's I'll pour it a few inches above the tape, so the runs will take it where it needs to be. Dobb it in with the chip brush and keep moving.

fifth, don't be impatient. It takes time for the cloth to absorb the resin. Don't try to get it completely wet right away, just get it evenly spread and mostly wet, working to the end of the tape.

Six, go back to the start and work down again with the few spots that haven't completely wet out.

At this point, runs aren't a bad thing. You have to pre-coat the entire boat with epoxy anyway, so just spread any excess wherever you can. Got to do it sooner or later.

Hope this helps :D