MGuel FL12 Build!

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Arawak
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by Arawak »

Looking good!

How did you feel the plastic went? I thought it was awesome when I did the outside seam around the middle, but on all the rest it created such an orange peel effect wherever there was a bend that I found it wasn't worth it. 3M bubbles plus epoxy resin made a great, easy-to-sand fairing/filling compound for me.

mguel
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by mguel »

The plastic was so-so. I think I should have cut the plastic into strips instead and place those on top of each seam, instead of placing the entire sheet on the box. That may have eliminated a lot of those bends and creases. Thanks for that fairing/filling compound tip. I bought the smallest batch of quickfair but I really would like to try and mix my own to keep the costs down. I read that the forum or website has recipes for mixing your own fairing, but I couldn't find them! I purchased 3 gallons of resin/epoxy so I should have plenty.

I decided to wait on the rubrails. I flipped her over and rounded the edges. There were a few low spots that I filled with filler. Tonight I'll sand those down. I will probably wait till saturday to glass the bottom and bottom seams. I know it's gonna take time and I don't want to stay up late doing it during the week. I'm gonna try to find a second set of hands to help with the fiber cloth on the bottom. :?

mguel
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Re: Glassed outside!

Post by mguel »

I was able to get some more work on the boat done this weekend. I decided to wait on the rubrails till after I glass the bottom. I glassed the seams first wich was pretty easy and I had almost no bubbles. I then placed a glass cloth over the entire bottom. I thought I would get a lot of bubbles as I was doing it alone, but once again it wasn't too bad. The only spots where there were bubbles was at the spots where the glass tape from the seams met with the cloth. I used poor man's ply and checked it later that evening. I really wished I wouldnt have used the poor man's ply, or at least straightened the plastic out as much as possible. It left lots of indentations and lines all around. I lightly sanded most areas smooth, and I will give it another coat of epoxy over it just to be safe, maybe two.

Sunday, I sanded down the area where the skeg would go and wiped it down, in case of blush. The skeg gave me some problems. My skill saw skills weren't the best and it wasn't laying on the boat bottom as well as I would have liked. I used as many weights as possible but I couldn't get it to lay flat allt he way through. I finally decided to just add as much glue as possibe, and once dry I filled the gaps with filler. I also added a few strips to the bow to keep the bottom from scratching. Once dry i'll sand the ends down of those strips down to make it a little more pleasing to the eye.

This week i'll flip her over and work on the rubrails. I'm really enjoying this build. I'm really looking forward to taking her on her first expedition!!
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Steve7776
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by Steve7776 »

Great post, thanks. I just ordered the same plans and hope they arrive soon so I can get started on it myself. Your post gave me some good tips and some stuff to think about before getting started.

Cant wait until the plans arrive.

Steve
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mguel
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Latest update!

Post by mguel »

Well, it's been a while since i posted the progress on my fl12. It's still been very hot here in Houston. My wife is coming down with boat envy. Not that she wants to build one, but that I spend too much time on it. :roll: So I decided to take a break from boat building and take the wife out for a few days. I sure was having boat withdrawals! :lol:

Anyways, I flipped her over and filled the bow and transom compartments with foam. A buddy of mine had some left over from a repair build of his so it cost me NOTHING!! :D I then sanded the edges to the seats a lil bit to make them fit flush. I ended up rounding them off a lil bit and fiberglassing the outside edges. I cut out the hatch for the middle seat. That was an interesting process. I ripped two 1x1 battens of a 2x4 i had. I epoxy glued them to the batten on the frame and put 3 coated deck screws in them just to be safe. I really want my the hatch to have the hinges inside and not outside. Any ideas sure would be appreciated!

I had my first major mistake last week. I glued, filled, and glassed the bow seat...and totally forgot to install the bow eye! I had already drilled the hole and sanded the bow for a nice fit. I filled the hole and fibered it twice. I can't believe I did that. I guess I'll just place the eye between the seat top and the breast plate. It maybe better that way in case it ever gets damaged or loose, then I have easy access to it.

Today I placed the first layer of rubrail on. It wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. Didn't need to use any screws or dowels either. I sort of made the openings on my pvc clamps a little wide, so I had to improvise a bit to have them snug the rubrail strips a little. See the pic and you'll get it.

I bought a small case of quickfair. Probably will use it on the outside seams. I also bought a few bags of mixed blended for fairing the inside. I'm not looking at making this a show boat, but i do want it to be something I can show off to some buds. :wink:

In a few hours I'm going to head to Houston and checkout some primer and paint from the ONLY local hardware store that carries Duralux Marine products. They're very affordable, so I have my suspicions.

I cant believe i'm nearing the end stage! Two more layers of rubrails, glue on the blocks for the oar mounts, the breasthook and knees, then prime and paint.
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Below you can see my high dollar shop vac. My wife doesn't know about that! :help:
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topwater
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by topwater »

Looks like a ge wind tunnel...... i blew my wifes vac up just like that one....... had to buy her a new one and went out
and bought a shop vac for me...expensive mistake.
Novi 23 finally launched !

mguel
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by mguel »

8O Wow, Okay i'm getting a shop vac! That's a lot of $$ I can spend on my boat and not a carpet vac! Thanks for the heads up!

mguel
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Second Major Mistake..

Post by mguel »

Okay, so I posted my first mistake wich was sealing the bow seat without placing the bow eye. Well, today came mistake number two. As you can see above I finished installing the rubrails. Well, Mr. Wants-it-All here really wanted to round off the outside edge of the rubrails with his router. Being a novice to carpentry, I didn't really think it would be much trouble. I place the bit in, tightened it and away I went. The first side was just dandy. No problems there. Second side, about mid way in the rail, i noticed my router was dragging along....hmmm :doh: So, did I stop? NOOO...I kept going... :roll:

Well, next thing I know my bit goes flying off, didn't hit me thank goodness. But when I looked at my work I saw the damage. The bit was falling out little by little. And the cut was about half way through the rail by the time the bit fell out. :oops: :x

So my first thought was eh, just fill it...but no, the cut was too deep. So i grabbed my skill saw, cut about a 33" portion off the rubrail..(that's how long the damaged section was) and I replaced it with fresh meranti strips. The only thing that worries me is that the section is place on there without butt blocks. I'm thinking of fibering to help strengthen it some. Oh well...

It started to happen again after I replaced the bit and tightend it EXTRA tight...(or so I thought). But I caught that early and decided to just fill it in a lil and go over it again with the router after it dries.

Moral of the story...TIGHTEN UR BITS ON YOUR ROUTER EXTRA TIGHT! And if you feel something odd...STOP CUTTING!!!

Side view of the filled second cut that was getting away.
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Top view of the filled second cut.
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My replacement piece on the rail.
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TomW
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by TomW »

M don't know how old your router is but it sounds like your collet may be bad. This is the peice inside that the bit tightens up against. Take the complete nut assembly off the bottom of your router and you will see it in there it should fall out easily if it is frozen up it is what is keeping you from tightening down on your bit. Sometimes just loosening will do the job other times it needs replacement. It looks like a sleeve with 3 slits in it.

Tom
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mguel
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Re: MGuel FL12 Build!

Post by mguel »

Thanks Tom. I got the router from a Pawn shop and now that I think of it the collet does seem a little rusted and worn. I'll defintely replace it before I try and go over the patch job and my filled section!

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