RB16 new build KY 1st timer

[TommyD]

Thanks guys for all the input, I did back up and regroup and it turned out much better I think. Took out some stitches, drilled a new hole closer to the tip and used a wire tie there to pull the bow in tighter. Also drilled some holes (larger than the screw I used) in a wood block and used it to pull out the sides to line up with the other panels. Thanks Frans Loots for those tips on FB.

Next question

Didn’t get my epoxy glue thick enough and some of the joints are sunk down a little. Do I need to make these flush on the bottom of the boat or will epoxy fill this void when I put on the fiberglass tape?

Lamination schedule says
“ Keel, bow and transom to sides and bottom:– two layers biaxial tape 12 oz. 45/45 6” wide each side.”

So is that one piece of 6” on each side and then a full piece on the whole bottom.

Or 2 pieces of 6” and then FG the whole bottom?

[Buz]

You should fill those with putty and round the glue over to a good radius that you'll lay the tape on. You need rounded edges, convex and concave, for the tape to lay across smoothly.

That part of the schedule says to lay 6" tape 2" on one side of the gap, 4" on the other. Then follow with another strip overlapping the keel the opposite way. Both sides everywhere mentioned, including the whole perimeter of the transom. Well, not the top edge.

That sentence says nothing about your wide cloth.

[pee wee]

That part of the schedule says to lay 6" tape 2" on one side of the gap, 4" on the other. Then follow with another strip overlapping the keel the opposite way. Both sides everywhere mentioned, including the whole perimeter of the transom. Well, not the top edge.

That sentence says nothing about your wide cloth.

Sometimes you have to read through things two or more times to really get it, and sometimes you are flipping through the drawings forward or backward to get the whole picture. There are instances in some of the plans where a generic illustration disagrees with the lamination schedule, in those cases rely on the lamination schedule. As I read it, you will be using two layers of 6" tape (offset) on the centerline of the boat (keel and bow) and where the transom meets the rest of the hull (sides and bottom). On the chines you only use one piece on each side of the boat.

Don't forget to prime raw wood with neat epoxy before applying your epoxy/woodflour mix, as that will make a stronger joint. Also, the neater you leave an area the less sanding you'll have to do and the less epoxy you'll waste. It's something you're going to get a feel for.

If you haven't done it already, check out the tutorials here, they contain a lot of helpful information.

[OlivierP]

When the lamination schedule says "2 layers of tape ... each side " that means indeed 2 layers inside and 2 outside, slightly offset from the center.

Then the schedule requires cloth on the bottom, inside and outside, overlapping the chines by 6".

[TommyD]

Thanks gang for the clarification…should start taping soon.

[TommyD]

So can/do you put down both 6” layers at the same time?

Epoxy the plywood first and let it tack up. Then put down 1st layer of tape and wet out and let it tack up ??then add another layer of tape and wet it out??

Or just do one layer at a time and do the next layer the next day.

[Buz]

Put another layer on after its gotten tacky enough to not move when you put the next layer on. Every time you let epoxy cure you must sand that epoxy before adding more. I'm stacking all the epoxy steps I can atop each other in a spot to avoid that sanding. Getting all fillets and taping in a small area done in a day is better than doing a single layer of tape all over then having to sand it before adding the next layer all over.

Last time, I'd do all fillets one day, the whole boat, then have to sand em before taping the whole boat the next day. Then have to sand it again before putting on the wide cloth. Plus, I was using up any leftovers of mixed amounts of epoxy to coat wood whenever I had extra after a job. That has to be sanded too. Don't do that.

[TommyD]

Buz thanks for the help. I don’t know why but I’ve always tried to be efficient and not wasteful. That has gotten me in trouble (more work) in this 1st boat build. Just hate throwing away that unused epoxy.

[TommyD]

I’ve never used a random orbital sander. Only a palm sander or just a piece of sand paper. Only took me about 5hrs of sanding over the course of 4 days to figure out I should quit applying pressure to it and let it do the work!! I’m a fast study

[Buz]

Really, try to think of ways to avoid sanding. In addition to the added time and hassle, sanding some thickness off is wasteful, too. A couple ounces of lost epoxy is far cheaper than hours of wearing the grit off of lots of sandpaper.