FS14 new build - South Shore MA

[Fuzz]

Your boat is big enough to buy a gallon of primer. I think a quart would have you not putting on as many coats as you really should.

[VT_Jeff]

I recommend epoxy/graphite for the bottom and then put your anti fouling paint over that if needed. The epoxy graphite, to me, is much easier and faster to apply as you can do multiple coats wet on wet, no sanding in between, and you dont need a perfect surface before you apply.

[TomW1]

The others have said it pretty well. S3 as the primer 3 coats before sanding smooth. 3 coats of graphite/epoxy 255-33% ratio. It should be smooth so you may need to wet sand, it is messy. Only if your keeping your boat in salt water a good salt water paint. I am partial to the Interlux ablatives.

Tom

[cracked_ribs]

If you're graphiting the bottom, I'll just share one tip: I have seen lots of talk about sifting and othe careful procedures...I never did any of that and you could read your watch in the reflection off my graphite.

What I did was heat the resin by putting four ounces in a mixing cup, in a big pot of hot tap water. When it got good and hot, I mixed in maybe 50% by volume graphite powder. The resin is really watery at that point and mixes really smooth. I'd let it sit (usually in the fridge or freezer) for a bit for the bubbles to work out, then mix in the catalyst once it dropped down to just warm. It's still a bit thin at that point; you pour it on and use a spreader, working fast. It mostly self-levels and you get a smooth, glossy surface with basically no effort.

[Fuzz]

That sounds like a pretty slick trick there CrackedRibs

[cracked_ribs]

Thanks, it works well enough in small batches, although I admit I have never tried it on a really large boat. Still, I have done multiple batches on smaller boats to good effect.

[Nelly]

Thanks for that tip cracked_ribs.

I've cut a bunch of ply strips for the rubrail from the leftovers I had lying around. Wondering how to handle the curved shape of the hull as you get toward the bow. If I keep these pieces straight, it will align under or above the sheer line. I know this rubrail serves a structural purpose and don't want to do it the wrong way. I also don't want it to look bad, nor do I really want to have to cut curved strips. I know the general recommendation is to work with relatively short strips, but even so, these will not butt flush with each other if aligned to keep with the boat's natural sheer. Any thoughts on this?

[Dougster]

With difficulty, using dowels in pre-drilled holes I was barely able to torture ply rubrails on to the LB22. Wouldn't try it again. It's too late now but some guys have traced the sheer line onto some ply or whatever, using the side panels before they were put in place. You may consider using hardwood instead of ply? Or maybe get a long roll of paper and lay out the sheer line on it using the plans and use that as a template to cut ply rails. I'm kind of thinking out loud, maybe other's have better ideas.

Dougster

[jacquesmm]

I've cut a bunch of ply strips for the rubrail from the leftovers I had lying around. Wondering how to handle the curved shape of the hull as you get toward the bow.

Use the leftover plywood from the side panel as a template.
That is the exact curve.

[Nelly]

The reason I bought the CNC kit was to avoid making cuts like this. I don't have a woodshop. I'm doing this with hand tools in my backyard. It should be part of the bill of materials.

Has anyone done this with straight pieces?

Because most of my scrap has now been cut into straight pieces, I will need to source other ply - does the rubrail need to be marine ply? I may just make it out of a regular 1/4' 4x8' sheet from Lowes. It's the furthest part of the boat from the water line, after all.