Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Started building the FS 14 on 11/5/20 with Marine Ply BS1088

Hi Guys, I have a question.
Managed to trim the bottom panel and now it fits on the frames nicely.
However there is a large gap of about 1/2 " in the center line (where the white tape is)
Do I just fill it up with epoxy or I need to put some strips of plywood in between and then epoxy.
The panels are now held down with temporary screws

Bernard

You need to take those screws out that are holding the hull to the molds, it's okay to place some screws into the transom edges but not anywhere else. Loosely tie all the panels together with wire or zip ties and work them bit by bit until you get a fair hull with minimal gaps between panels. If a gap develops between the hull and the molds, it's not as important as the fit of the panels and the shape of the hull.

pee wee wrote: ↑Sat Nov 14, 2020 9:50 am You need to take those screws out that are holding the hull to the molds, it's okay to place some screws into the transom edges but not anywhere else. Loosely tie all the panels together with wire or zip ties and work them bit by bit until you get a fair hull with minimal gaps between panels. If a gap develops between the hull and the molds, it's not as important as the fit of the panels and the shape of the hull.

Thank you Hank. I will try that again. Wasn't sure if the gap was due to fitting or to the hand drawn and hand cutting of the panels and some errors made. Other than that everything else looks ok to the eye.

Bernard

SILENT WISH wrote: ↑Sun Nov 15, 2020 7:19 am Other than that everything else looks ok to the eye.

Bernard

Yes, it looks good so far, but those sides need to be in place to really tell how it's going. Don't re-cut any of the panels until you've got things together and it just won't fit. Post pictures and ask for advice, this is a critical stage for your boat.

Good advice from Hank.
Took out the screws and realigned the panels again, instead of taking the easy way out and filling up with epoxy.
Apparently my curves drawn was not so correct and had to trim the inside edges again. It looks much better now and I like the sharper V at he bow.
Another thing when I got in today, I found all the gaps were wider due to the hot midday sun and expansion of the wood. I knew something was not right.
Hopefully the shape stays intact tomorrow.
Bernard

Can someone help me with this.

Where do you place the water line and how do you draw it. I mean the angle and the position of the line.

I made sure the boat was level (i.e. the stringers were level). Then I used a cheapo laser to draw the line. A simple bubble level would have worked just as well. A clear tube with water in it. One end at the bow and move forward in increments with the other end to mark the line.

Dougster

Thank you Dougster.
So the water line is parallel to the stringers.
I put a red line representing the water line.
The blue line is where I will paint the anti fouling.
It looks ok but welcome any more advice.
I know I have not done the fiber glassing yet but wanted to see how far up I should fiber glass.

Regards,
Bernard

You might do a search on waterlines. It seems I remember some people angle theirs up a bit at the bow, for looks. Just a little I would think, not sure. Somebody else will chime in I bet.

Dougster

I did the same as dougster with the laser level. I made some marks along the laser line and then connected the dots with masking tape. Getting the laser line on the side near the wall was a little tricky.

Is your goal to glass exactly to the waterline? If so I would ask why?

No not at the water line. This is just to get a reference for the boat level.
I am thinking to glass around the blue line with the 12 oz bi axial cloth.
This is up to where I will have the anti fouling paint.
Above this top side I was intending to use a lighter woven cloth

Bernard

Gotcha.

To find my waterline, I measured up roughly 5" from the lowest point the transom since my boat is supposed to draft 5" at the designed load weight. I fudge-factored it a little since

1. I don't have a skeg(I think the draft includes a 1" skeg)
2. know my boat will be heavier than the designed hull weight.
3. scaled my boat by 10%, which throws off just about everything.
4. The lowest point on the transom is not the deepest point on the boat, I think.......

In my case, it doesn't really matter but if I was trying to find a a target level for bottom paint I may look for a little more precision, or just take a worst-case scenario and run the bottom paint up to that mark. Better to have an extra inch of bottom paint showing than to have an inch of crap growing on the boat.

Just to be clear; on my boat, the theoretical waterline is highlighted below. The other lines are part of the graphic.

SILENT WISH wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:35 am Thank you Dougster.
So the water line is parallel to the stringers.
I put a red line representing the water line.
The blue line is where I will paint the anti fouling.
It looks ok but welcome any more advice.
I know I have not done the fiber glassing yet but wanted to see how far up I should fiber glass.

Regards,
Bernard

I would fiberglass the entire hull, regardless of where the water line stops.

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:53 am I would fiberglass the entire hull, regardless of where the water line stops.

I suspect this is pretty common and probably a good use of extra weight. The plans only call for glass 6" above the chine, which is what I did.

In hindsight, glassing to the sheer would have made fairing the sides a lot easier.

VT_Jeff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 11:11 am

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 10:53 am I would fiberglass the entire hull, regardless of where the water line stops.

I suspect this is pretty common and probably a good use of extra weight. The plans only call for glass 6" above the chine, which is what I did.

In hindsight, glassing to the sheer would have made fairing the sides a lot easier.

After cutting a boat up with my chainsaw and throwing it away due to checking of the plywood I won’t build another that isn’t fully glassed.

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 1:43 pm After cutting a boat up with my chainsaw and throwing it away due to checking of the plywood I won’t build another that isn’t fully glassed.

Understandable, that had to be heartbreaking! JM does say in the plans to use a lighter cloth if you're planning on glassing the entire outside. Are you glassing both sides of every surface?

VT_Jeff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:59 pm

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 1:43 pm After cutting a boat up with my chainsaw and throwing it away due to checking of the plywood I won’t build another that isn’t fully glassed.

Understandable, that had to be heartbreaking! JM does say in the plans to use a lighter cloth if you're planning on glassing the entire outside. Are you glassing both sides of every surface?

The last few boats I’ve done both sides of every panel, yes. In many cases it’s just 4oz woven which hardly adds any weight, but gives me peace of mind.

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:38 pm The last few boats I’ve done both sides of every panel, yes. In many cases it’s just 4oz woven which hardly adds any weight, but gives me peace of mind.

Gotcha. You have me thinking about ordering some light fabric. Do you get a commission?

VT_Jeff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:45 pm

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:38 pm The last few boats I’ve done both sides of every panel, yes. In many cases it’s just 4oz woven which hardly adds any weight, but gives me peace of mind.

Gotcha. You have me thinking about ordering some light fabric. Do you get a commission?

I wish! Just trying to help out. Light fabric is a cheap and easy way of protecting your investment of time, money and sweat!

Thanks guys.
I think I will just glass 6" above the chines as called in the plans and cover the rest with a 4 oz woven cloth.
Can I then use the 6" edge to put a white boot stripe just like the FS12 boat-in-box tutorial picture on page 27.

Bernard

Sounds like a plan Bernard!

Boat is now ready for fiber glassing.
Showing the reverse chine added.

Coming along great Bernard, reverse chine looks excellent!

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:38 pm The last few boats I’ve done both sides of every panel, yes. In many cases it’s just 4oz woven which hardly adds any weight, but gives me peace of mind.

I just got a shipment of 4 oz fabric from BBC. I'm taking your advice and am going to glass the entire sole and deck. Not going to do every surface top and bottom, already far too late for that, but going to so a fair but more than I originally planned.

VT_Jeff wrote: ↑Mon Dec 14, 2020 11:25 am Coming along great Bernard, reverse chine looks excellent!

gstanfield wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:38 pm The last few boats I’ve done both sides of every panel, yes. In many cases it’s just 4oz woven which hardly adds any weight, but gives me peace of mind.

I just got a shipment of 4 oz fabric from BBC. I'm taking your advice and am going to glass the entire sole and deck. Not going to do every surface top and bottom, already far too late for that, but going to so a fair but more than I originally planned.

Good to hear! You'll be pleased with the decision.

SILENT WISH wrote: ↑Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:54 pm Boat is now ready for fiber glassing.
Showing the reverse chine added.

Looks neat!

Installed the Rub Rails today.

Glued 3 layers of 6mm Ply 2" wide

TIP: Changed the sheer line to a straight edge on the flat plans. The bow goes slightly higher when you bend around the frames.
But it is easier to rip straight lines of 2" width 6mm ply and it will fit nicely on the sheer.

You're cooking right along, nicely done!

Decided to glass the whole top side, instead of just 6" above the chines.

Seems a waste to cut off the cloth and nothing useful could be done with the narrow strips.

After Epoxy

SILENT WISH wrote: ↑Wed Dec 23, 2020 8:25 am Decided to glass the whole top side, instead of just 6" above the chines.

You definitely fit right in here!

Glass job looks great, nice work!

BOAT ON WHEELS

Landlord wanted to take back the place , so the boat had to be moved to a new home!

Had to move the boat vertically to get through the door

Well Done!!!! Jeff

MOVED THE BOAT TO A SHIPYARD. BUT THEY WANTED AN ARM AND A LEG TO WORK THERE.

SO BOAT MOVED AGAIN TO A NEW HOME UNDER A TREE BY THE BEACH

GLASSING THE RUB RAILS

I really admire the hell out of people like you who find a way to get a build done under difficult circumstances like this. I know how trying it can occasionally be under ideal circumstances. Hats off on sticking with it, glassing looks first rate!

X2 on what Jeff said. we here in the USA sometimes forget how easy we have it.

BOAT IS NOW READY FOR SANDING TO RECEIVE THE 1ST COAT OF PAINT.
FAIRING WAS DONE WITH FUMED SILICA MIXED WITH EPOXY FOR THE 1ST LAYER AND ALUMINOSILICATE WITH EPOXY FOR THE 2ND LAYER.
LITTLE COLOR WAS ADDED TO MAKE IT EASIER TO SEE.
WORK WAS COMPLICATED WITH BIRD DROPPINGS AND LEAVES

OUTSIDE HULL PAINTED AND ANTIFOULING DONE

Good progress, it's looking fine!

Nice work!!! Jeff

That looks very nice! You are doing good work there.

At last got my frames installed and glassed.
Next will be to put in the self draining decks which is raised to about 8" from the transform bottom center.
The holes below the deck in the frames are for ventilation and to keep the area below deck dry.
The forward deck is connected to the aft deck through the side tunnels and will be drained through scuppers at the transform.
The mid seats hatches will be opened through below the decks for inspection, ventilation and deeper storage space.

That's looking good, and it looks like you work neatly, too!

Nice work!!! Jeff

ALMOST THERE.
RAINING SEASON HAS STARTED AND WORK GET A BIT MORE COMPLICATED.
EPOXY IN BETWEEN THE THUNDERSTORMS

SUPPORT FOR RAISED DECKS INSTALLED

BUOYANCY FOAM UNDER DECK. 450KG

SELF DRAINING DECK COMPLETED

INSTALLING THE GUNWALES

Nice progress!!! Jeff

Completed the Boat.
However can only launch end of the month as we are now in restricted movement control due to covid

Nice work!!! Jeff

Very nice! It must be hard to have to wait before playing with your new baby

Fuzz wrote: ↑Mon Jun 21, 2021 1:03 pm Very nice! It must be hard to have to wait before playing with your new baby

Agreed! Great job, and that would drive me insane!